Time Paradox Part 1: The Dark Side of You
by RoxieDivine
Summary: What if Clockwork never interfered with Danny's evil future? What if Danny had still cheated on the C.A.T, and as a result Danny Fenton lost the ones he loved forever? What where the events after this tragedy that lead Danny to his evil fate? Find out in this alternate time line thriller where we hear the origins of Danny Phantom's: The Ultimate Enemy, from start to finish!
1. Episode Recap & Author's Notes

**Series Title:** Time Paradox

Author Notes: Ok Guys I have recently started rewatching some of my old favorite Nicktoon cartoons! And have decided to continue an old story idea of mine. What show is the story based off you might ask? It's Danny Phantom! You know the half ghost, half boy who saves the world from Dark ghouls!

Yes! Anyway I just recently finished the Episode called: _The Ultimate Enemy_ , and this episode reminded me of a story I had written back when the show was still fairly new, and I've decided I want to finish it. But before I get to the story I wanted to explain what it's about, and how it came to be since it deals with Time paradoxes, a subject that can be confusing to some people.

So like I said this idea originated from the episode _The Ultimate Enemy_!

* * *

 **Chapter1: Episode Recap:**

Ten years in the future, the Earth is a wasteland. The only surviving location is Amity Park, which has become a bustling future metropolis. It is protected by a huge ghost shield, operated and run by Damon Gray, while his 24-year-old daughter Valerie serves as the city's sole protector from ghosts. The ghost shield was nigh-impenetrable and had protected Amity Park for ten years, until one new, very evil and very powerful ghost uses his newest power, the Ghostly Wail, to easily break through the ghost shield. Valerie is then ambushed by the Fright Knight who is now in servitude to the new ghost. She heads to safety in Fenton Works, now occupied by her and her father. The new ghost gets through from below, and reveals himself to be an adult Danny Phantom. He then blows up the entire house. All this is being watched by Clockwork, ghost master of time, and the mysterious Observants. As the Observants can only watch and never interfere, they task Clockwork with saving the future - by destroying the present Danny Fenton. However Clockwork, decides to test Danny instead in hopes that Danny will make the right decision proving that no one needs to fear for the future.

In the present, Lancer makes a public announcement to the students about the Career Aptitude Test, which will determine their future. Jazz already passed with flying colors, while another classmate named Irving failed and now works for minimum wage at the Nasty Burger. Irving tries to explain how his job is very important, as if the Nasty Burger special sauce overheats it could cause a massive explosion, but none of the other students seem to care. Lancer shows the students that he has the folder containing the answers to the test, then locks the folder in his briefcase. Clockwork watches all this from his lair while the Observants urge him to destroy the boy. Clockwork insists that he knows what he's doing and they continue to watch Danny.

Back home, Jazz tries hard to help Danny succeed in his studies, but this makes him even more frustrated about how he feels she's smarter than he ever will be and how little success he feels he will gain. He is then hit by the Booomerang, a new Fenton device designed to home into a ghost's unique ecto-signature. His parents are confused why it keeps targeting Danny, suggesting that it might be malfunctioning.

Clockwork then sends Box Lunch, daughter of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady Ghost, from the future to the present to test Danny. Jazz quickly leaves upon seeing the ghost to let Danny handle the situation, and the two fight, eventually flying all the way to the Nasty Burger where his friends and Mr. Lancer are. Danny remembers what Irving said about the Nasty Sauce and throws a packet of it at Box Lunch and heats it with his Ghost Ray, causing a huge explosion that destroys half the building (and damages the machines in the boiler room, causing it to slowly rise in heat). The explosion flings Danny back to where the masses have gathered. His trajectory takes him straight through Lancer's briefcase. Everyone runs away, leaving no sign of Box Lunch. Danny finds the time medallion Box Lunch had been wearing, as well as the answers to the C.A.T. which Danny had inadvertently phased out of Lancer's briefcase. Clockwork hopes Danny will make the right decision and give Lancer back the answers without looking at them, but instead Danny openly admits that he's going to use them to cheat on the CAT. The Observants coerce Clockwork to send another ghost to stop Danny, However Clockwork claims that the future is now sealed.

The next day in school, Tucker and Sam berate Danny for his possible plans to cheat on the C.A.T., something Lancer overhears. Opening his suitcase to find his test answers gone, he calls for Jazz to talk with him after school where he reveals to her that Danny must have stolen the answers. Jazz tries to defend him, stating he has no proof, so Lancer gives Danny until the day of the test to return the answers.

Back in the Fenton household, Tucker tries to figure out the time medallion's functions, but gets no results. Danny is about to look in the folder (much to his friends' disapproval) when he meets another ghost from the future: Skulktech 9.9, a ghost made from the combined forces of Skulker and Technus. A long battle between them ends when Tucker hacks into their system. They fall, and their time medallion slips off, sending Skulktech as well as Danny, Sam, and Tucker to Clockwork's lair.

Inside, the trio looks through a portal to the future, witnessing the destruction Danny's future self is causing. Tucker then finds a few time medallions and puts one on in a failed attempt to go back to the present. Clockwork then appears seemingly wanting to kill Danny after all in order to prevent his dark future. Danny tries fighting Clockwork, but it's a one-sided battle, as Clockwork has the power of time control. Clockwork freezes Danny in place and lunges at Danny with his scythe, to try to kill him and prevent his evil future from happening once and for all. Unaffected by the time-out, Tucker figures out that the time medallion protects the wearer from all time-based alterations, and gives one to Sam and Danny, freeing Danny. Clockwork decides that they have seen too much and summons ghost soldiers from different eras to prevent them from altering the timeline. With nowhere else to go, the trio escapes through the portal to the future.

The future already proves grim for the three and even more so when future Valerie catches young Danny, ready to exterminate him, but she is shocked that Sam and Tucker are alive! Dark Danny then appears asking them "So, to what do I owe this little blast from the past? [His eyes widen as he notices Sam's Clockwork medallion] "Clockwork. Meddling again." He says, he then attacks Valerie Saying "I suppose out of respect for our past, I should let you live. But that's not how I work." Younger Danny rescues her and then passes out from exhaustion.

In the meantime, Sam and Tucker run away, only for Dark Danny to drop the rubble of the Fenton house on them with his Ghostly Wail. Before they are hit, Sam takes off their time medallions, safely returning them to their own time period. Sam and Tucker end up in an alley near the Nasty Burger where Jazz confronts them, having discovered Danny indeed had the test answers. She warns them, saying that she'll talk to Mr. Lancer if Danny doesn't confess. Afterwards, Sam theorizes that Danny cheating is what will lead him to become evil.

Back in the future, Danny finds out his family, friends, and Mr. Lancer were all killed when the Nasty Burger boiler exploded with them inside. Dark Danny comes to him, telling his past self that he plans to ensure his future still exists. To bind young Danny to this time, he places his past self's time medallion inside of him, unreachable by either ghosts or humans, and throws him into the Ghost Zone to keep him from causing any further distraction. Then, Dark Danny disguises himself as his 14-year-old human self and uses one of Tucker's time medallions to travel back to the present. The disguised Dark Danny reunites with his former friends in the present, telling them he has beaten his evil future self and that the Nasty Burger boiler is also taken care of (when in reality, it's still ready to blow).

Back in the future Ghost Zone, Danny finds the future versions of all his Ghost Zone enemies, all the worse after having encountered Dark Danny. Johnny 13 is in a wheelchair and pushed around by Shadow, Ember is overweight and has severely damaged vocal chords, and even the Box Ghost has an eye patch and a hook hand from being used as Dark Danny's punching bag. As an act of revenge, they gang up on him.

Back in the present, Dark Danny returns to his former room in the Fenton house, where Jazz is waiting to confront him on his cheating. She then confesses that she knows he is half-ghost and is secretly really proud of him for everything he's done. A bit surprised that she knew, Dark Danny turns into his normal form. Dark Danny confirms that he is her brother evil self and that his past self is floating in the Ghost Zone in the future. Jazz defiantly says that her brother will beat him, which Dark Danny highly doubts, as he destroyed the future Fenton Works' ghost portal.

Jazz wakes up the next day to find Dark Danny has already left to take the test. Quickly, Jazz takes the Booomerang, ties a note to it with her headband, and sends it to the Ghost Zone in the hope that it will reach Danny in 10 years.

Back in the future, Danny is helpless against the ghosts attacking him. In his frustration, he suddenly gains the ability to use the Ghostly Wail, knocking all his enemies unconscious. Soon after, the Booomerang finds him. Danny reads the note, realizes that Vlad is involved and goes to track him down.

Meanwhile, Dark Danny starts to cheat on the test, something his friends are still livid over. Jazz watches from afar, ready to destroy him with the Fenton Ghost Peeler. Dark Danny notices and sends an invisible duplicate of himself to knock her unconscious and drag her away.

Danny manages to find the portal to Vlad's manor (hidden behind a giant football), but upon entering, he notices that the manor is long gone and the once proud billionaire is now a depressed old hermit. Seeing Danny and guessing that he's from the past, he tells the story of how Dark Danny came to be: After the death of his loved ones, Danny moved in with Vlad, as he was the only one who could possibly understand his pain. Wanting to make the hurt go away, he requested Vlad to remove his ghost half, something Vlad honored, pulling it out with the Ghost Gauntlets. However, once Danny's ghost half was removed, it went berserk, took the gloves and ripped Vlad's ghost half out of him. Danny's ghost half then attempted to overshadow Vlad's ghost half, only for the two ghosts to fuse and Vlad's evil nature overwhelming Danny, becoming the evil incarnation he is now. Blowing up Vlad's manor, and supposedly killing his human half, Dark Danny left to begin his ten year rampage of world destruction. Vlad laments that he spent the ten long years stuck in regret and guilt for all the damage he had caused. Danny, in a rare moment, forgives him, then asks for his help to take out the medallion inside of him using the Ghost Gauntlets. Readying his gadgets, Vlad remarks that he could instead eliminate Danny before he becomes evil, and strikes.

In the present, Dark Danny finishes the test and walks off, prompting Lancer to call his parents and arrange a meeting at the Nasty Burger. There he reveals his suspicions that Danny cheated, shocking his parents badly. Sam and Tucker then come over to warn them that the boiler is about to explode. Jazz arrives as well and blasts Danny with the Fenton Peeler, revealing Dark Danny's true form to the others. Alarmed, his parents are on the offensive, demanding to know where their son is, only for Dark Danny to reveal himself as their child.

Dark Danny smugly taunts his parents, saying how they claimed to be world's leading ghost experts yet couldn't figure out that their own son is half-ghost. They never even made the connection between the names Fenton and Phantom. Jazz was the only one to figure it out, much to Tucker and Sam's surprise. Dark Danny then ties up his family, friends, and Mr. Lancer to the boiler where the explosion would kill them.

Danny then comes from the future with a bunch of Fenton gadgets, ready to duke it out with his darker future self. A battle ensues. Dark Danny makes sure not to kill his younger self, as all he needs to do is stall for time so that Danny's friends and family die in the explosion, ensuring his future. However, he grossly underestimates his past self when Danny suddenly uses the Ghostly Wail on him. Shocked that he already gained a power he should not get for another ten years, Dark Danny is struck by another Ghostly Wail, causing him to crash into a building. Danny then captures Dark Danny in the Fenton Thermos.

Unfortunately, with the last wail using all of his energy, Danny cannot transform back into his ghost half, making it too late for him to stop the explosion, and all he can do is look on in grief and horror. Time freezes, however, and Danny finds himself next to Clockwork who has saved his loved ones. Clockwork explains to Danny that the Observants view time as a parade, watching each event in sequence, whereas he sees the parade from above, along with all the twists and turns that might or might not happen. Giving him a second chance, Clockwork sends Danny back into the past, before the start of the test, where Danny returns the test answer booklet and then confesses he was going to cheat, However because he was honest Mr. Lancer lets him off easy with a week of detention; Saying he can take the makeup CAT the following week, (much to the relief of his friends and sister.) Danny then goes out to the front of the school, where Jazz meets him and she confesses that she knows his secret. With that said, the two embrace, Jazz is now part of Danny's team. A giant ghost then attacks, and Jazz gives her brother one last hug before letting Danny go to fight the ghost. As they battle, Jazz is splatted with ectoplasm, and comments that "this is going to get some getting used to".

Back in Clockwork's home, the Observants accuse Clockwork of cheating to influence Danny's choice. Clockwork answers that true, he cheated, but stating Danny made up his mind on his own nonetheless. The Observants then task him with watching over the both the boy's present and future self. The Observants then give the thermos containing Dark Danny to Clockwork, as Clockwork is to be his sole guardian now that Dark Danny exists outside of time. Clockwork merely agrees, saying that he knows everything that has happened and will happen. He then locks the thermos away. The last thing seen is the room containing the Fenton Thermos, where Dark Danny struggles in vain to escape...

* * *

 **Time Paradox series explained:**

Now that you have a brief recap of the episode I can get on to explaining the story I plan to write. It's a trilogy starting with the first Part called: _The Dark Side of you._ This is what it's about: It's a story of what would have happened if Danny had cheated on that test and Clockwork had not interfered. I know Vlad explains most of the story, or the gist, but Dark Danny hinted at the fact that he and Valerie had some kind of relationship, after Danny's family and friends died. He says to her "I suppose out of respect for our past, I should let you live. But that's not how I work."

Now if you are savvy in the ways of Danny Phantom then you would remember that up to this point the present day Valerie and Danny do not have feelings for each other as of yet. Danny still hates on her for trying to kill his ghost half, and the fact that she was once one of the popular kids that bullied him and his friends.

This made me wonder what could have happened from the time Danny started living with Vlad, and before Vlad separated him from his human side. Did Vlad's statues make Danny a wanted member of the popular crowd? Did Danny at least try to move on before he went to Vlad for help in making the "pain go away?" Is that how he ended up with Valerie? Did Danny give up ghost fighting after the death of his loved ones? Or did he try to carry on? What would have happened if Clockwork had just let the future playout?

These are the questions I want to answer within the first book of this trilogy!

However Book two of the trilogy: _One in the Same_ , would be using the original chain of events that happen in the episode _The Ultimate Enemy_ , and would pick up after the final episode of Danny Phantom. It would explain how the Dark Danny escaped Clockwork, and tries to work towards the Dark future that the Observants tried to prevent in the first place. I wrote this story do to another thing the Dark Phantom says. When Danny, Tucker and Sam show up in the future in the episode _Ultimate Enemy_ , Dark Danny askes them "So, to what do I owe this little blast from the past? [His eyes widen as he notices Sam's Clockwork medallion] "Clockwork. Meddling again." He says.

This makes me think Clockwork eventually changes his mind about doing nothing to stop the future, and took Dark Danny out of his original timeline by changing 14 year old Danny's mind about cheating. Clockwork confirms this when he agrees to Danny's accusation that the time ghost knew all along that this would happen. I think that originally Clockwork did nothing, and Danny went Evil, however Clockwork soon comes to regret his decision and since he is the master of time he went back to the moment that the Observants assigned him the job of killing Danny and decide that this time around he would try to stop Dark Danny from happening. However, younger Dany ends up going to the future where he sees this dark fate, and decides to never become Dark Danny.

I think this anger Dark Danny, and he steals one of Tucker's medallions, travels to the past and insures the future happens anyways. Seeing this Clockwork rewinds time again, and Starts from the beginning in his task to spare Danny, while stop his dark-self from becoming a reality. Which explains why Dark Danny says Clockwork is meddling **again!** And he knows this because Clockworks abilities leave a bad feeling of Déjà vu within his victims; especially if he's manipulated a single moment or chain of events more than once. Which explains why Dark Danny remembers the last time he meddled. And of course as we know this time Clockwork is successful in making it to where Dark Danny no longer exists in the current time line.

However in the episode _The Ultimate Enemy._ Dark Danny states that Clockwork's and younger Danny's efforts to stop him are in vain, because he was still there! He still existed. Whether it be inside or outside of time. He had not faded away into nothingness! Which hints at the fact that Danny's Dark Future still happens! Just not in the same way it originally did. It would also introduce the fact that Clockwork is constantly manipulating time trying to keep The Dark Danny from getting what he wants. The Observants confirm this suspicion by stating that Clockwork is now in charge of guarding both younger Danny and Dark Danny, and keeping this horrible future from finding another way to come to reality!

Finally book three: _Only Time Will Tell_ would be the Ultimate show down to see whether or not Dark Danny prevails. And to be honest since this book hasn't been finished like the first two; it could still go either way! Yep I am not sure if this story will be a happy ending or not!

Anyway with all of that said; Thanks for reading Enjoy, and please review.

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine


	2. It's Not My Future to Change

**The Dark Side of You**

 **Summary-** What if Clockwork never interfered with Danny's evil future? What if Danny had still cheated on the C.A.T, and as a result Danny Fenton lost the ones he loved forever? What where the events after this tragedy that lead Danny to allow his human side to be separated from his ghost half for all eternity?

Find out in this alternate time line thriller where we hear the origins of Danny Phantom's Ultimate Enemy from start to finish!

 **Disclaimers:** I do not own Danny Phantom

* * *

 **Chapter 2: "It Is Not My Future To Change!"**

 **(Amity Park: 10 Years into the Future)**

The future…

It was supposed to be bright, and full of untold opportunity for every individual who existed, in both the past and the present; in the Ghost World, and the Human Realm. However, all Clockwork could see was devastation, a dying Ghost World whose horrors had begun leaking into the Human Realm. The ghost of time watched as one of his many time rifts showed him the awaiting future.

The human world, which had once been full of life was now nothing more than a waste land! All life had been scrapped away leaving nothing, but barren and rocky lands formations where lush vegetation once flourished. No prey or predators roamed the land, there was nothing, nothing but silence and death. However, there was one exception, in the center of all that devastation remained one city, Amity Park! Surrounded by a futuristic ghost shield the city of Amity Park was closed off from the outside world. This small fact had allowed them to be protected from the monster who had destroyed the rest of their world.

That is until now!

Clockwork watches as the rift zooms in on the futuristic city, until it stops at to reveal Casper High School identical in all its over-a-century-old glory, save for the many futuristic buildings behind it. A yellow-orange car is parked with its wheels deployed and its door open vertically. A girl in blonde pig tales jumps out and joins the ocean of students hang out on the campus. The car takes flight and Zooms off to the unknown. Suddenly a jet surfboard with an older version of Valerie Gray, complete with a crew cut, surfs calmly over her town. Clockwork attention focuses on her as she flies over the lucky citizens of Amity Park.

They are now her sole responsibly, she is the only ghost hunter left. Her eyes sadden at the thought, but she pushes the thought away. It was best not to remember what had happened that day.

"Hi!" some kids below her wave happily.

Valerie looking down and smiling, salutes with two fingers, then looks forward. As she flies past, her lips find a smile forming on her face. Yes, the past had been bad, but at least now here in the future; she with the help of her father had made a paradise for what was left of mankind.

Still pain filled her heart as she flew over the Nasty Burger 2, she couldn't understand why it had to happen this way. Sure, she knew the events that had taken place, she knew what, no who had caused this! But her heart, and her mind could not understand how someone who was once so pure had nearly caused the end of them all!

Valerie shook her head, as a row of six force-field towers came into view. _'Don't go their girl.'_ She warned. _'It's only going to make you start crying…AGAIN!'_ Valerie forces herself to take her own advice, as she jumps off her board and onto the balcony of one of the towers. Valerie touches a button on her watch, and powers down her board as she walks toward a panel with a huge blue X on it.

Valerie opens it with a press of her watch; inside there are three bars, one yellow, one green, and one red. All are fully illuminated. Valerie observes these bars, and nods to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. They are displaying heathy readings, which meant this tower was fully operational. "That's nine down and 1 more to go." She told herself. She then lifted her communications watch and pushes a button on it, and spoke. "Ghost Shield Tower 9 100 percent operational."

The screen on the watch turns on to reveal an older version of her father.

"Great, sweetie. Let's check the last tower and get back-"

The watch cuts to static!

Valerie's eyes widen, "Daddy? Daddy?" She screams.

Suddenly with a loud beep, a pair of red eyes appear on the watch screen.

"Hello, Valerie." The voice of those eyes spoke darkly cutting into her like a knife.

NO! She knew those eyes, she knew that voice! _'This can't be happening!'_ She thought. _'Why him? Why Now?'_

"Why Valerie you look scared." The owner of those eyes dark chuckle brought her out of her trance.

"You, again?!" She snapped trying to force herself to sound indifferent, like she didn't know those eyes on a more personal level, but she did. Though she told no one of this, not even her father knew the truth. "I don't care how powerful you are, ghost, you can't break through the shield!"

"Until today." The owner of those eyes answered ominously.

The red eyes widen on the screen, and a howl rings out.

Valerie clamps her hands over her ears, wincing. The howl shakes the entire city. People below her also cover their head as they try to avoid broken glass as it falls from the shatter windshields of the flying cars above them.

Valerie doubles over, gasping as she realizes the levels on the tower meter are beginning to drop rapidly, then the generator on top of the tower explodes. Valerie grabs her jets-sled and leaps from the balcony as explosions rattle down the tower, the shockwave knocking the sled out of her grasp. She tumbles down through the smoke, and towards the hard ground. However, seconds before she becomes a pancake she remembers her watch, and by pushing a button she signals her sled, and it zooms toward her, saving her from her certain death.

Wide-eyed, Valerie comes to a stop straddling the jet-sled to stare up at the still-smoking shield tower. Valerie watches helplessly as the rest of the towers began to explode one after another like a sick domino effect of doom! The ghost shield dissolves at the generator points and sizzles away, leaving the city exposed. Lightning strikes, and people scream and run in the streets. Emergency bunker entrances with flashing red lights rise out of the streets and people race inside. Above the milling streets, Valerie looks at her watch, trying to glare down at the eyes of the monster, but deep down she was trembling on the inside.

"Do you like the new power?" The voice of the eyes asked. "I call it my Ghostly Wail."

Scowling, Valerie is about to respond when she is distracted by a sound overhead. She looks up to see a blazing purple blast coming at her. The impact knocks her out and she falls, coming to a crash-landing in front of the Nasty Burger 2. Bruised, she opens her eyes.

"You?" She whispers in surprise.

A purple-haloed form swoops down, hovering above her.

It's the Fight-Knight, the ghost of fear, and the right-hand man of the old Ghost King.

"Yes, me." Fight-Knight laughs, somewhat amused by her weaken state. "And I serve a new master now." He declared striking her again with another blow.

Valerie scrambles to her feet, as The Fright Knight hauls back and throws another purple crystal blast at her. Scowling, she punches a button on her gauntlet and her jet-sled sweeps her out of the way just in time. She sighs in relief as the blast vaporizing the Nasty Burger 2 behind her. "Gotta get to Dad..." She whispered anxiously.

Purple explosions erupt around her as she zips down the street then up a building, with the Fright Knight hot on her heels. She arches up through the smoke, then disappears in a burst of speed toward FentonWorks. The Fright Knight forms another purple blast crystal, this one bigger than he is, and flings it. Valerie dodges and it impacts the Ops Center, knocking the array off the top and splitting it open like a dropped watermelon.

Valerie zips in through the hole, flying down through the house and down into the lab, where red alarm lights are flashing. Her father, Mr. Gray is at a console. Valerie momentarily flinches at the sight of his missing arm, the ghost that was after her now was responsible for that! Her eyes narrowed. _'Fright Night!'_ She jumps off the sled and runs to her father's side. "Dad, the Fright Knight's here. Which means HE! Can't be far behind. What do we do? What can we-

Suddenly the Ghostly Wail rings out again, shaking the lab.

"Valerie, run." Mr. Gray Shouts, but it's too late.

The red lights shut down, leaving the lab in a green dim light, and they both turn to look at the Fenton Portal. The ground splits open, starting at the base of the Portal and zigzagging toward them, green light shining from the fissure, and a dark red-eyed figure bursts up from it his back turned to them; wearing a white and black jumpsuit with a white cape, green flame blazing around him.

He turns, and Valerie's eyes narrow on the logo dawning his chest. She knew the DP logo well, but the Danny phantom before her now with the, flaming white hair, green skin, pointed ears, fangs, and a goatee; was unrecognizable.

"Hello, Valerie." The Monster, Dark Danny, as she had come to call him in her mind smiled.

Valerie gapes at him.

"And goodbye." He mused, raising a hand, and releases an ectoblast, causing FentonWorks to explode around them.

"Now do you understand?" A pair of shadowed Observants asked Clockwork as they hover nearby in high-collared capes, Clock gears turning behind them. The Observants are merely humanoid ghost with large eye ball like heads. However, like Clockwork they see all, know all, but unlike Clockwork they knew Nothing of Time.

Time was a complicated maze, a labyrinth of twist and turns, and cross roads where one decision can change the end result.

Clockwork sifts his form to his past self, a child Clockwork flies up in front of the time rift he has been observing, he is covered with his purple hooded cape, his Time Staff in hand. "Yes. Danny Phantom grows up to be the evillest ghost on the planet." He shifts to adult form and turns, scowling. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"You are the Master of Time" The first observant snapped. "Isn't it obvious?"

The second Observant moved forward into the light. "To save the future, Danny Phantom must perish. You must destroy him!"

Clockwork pauses as he seems to absorb the information he has been given. "You want me to destroy his present self?" He asked.

"Yes, of course." The First Observant states. "We need to insure as little damage to both worlds as possible for neither world can live without the other!"

Clockwork floats over to another time rift, this one shows present day, and as his form shifts into an elderly version of himself, Danny Fenton and his friends, Sam, and Tucker appear in the rift.

At the moment the three friends are in their school auditorium where Mr. Lancer is on stage at a podium, Jazz (Danny's sister) and Irving (Some Nasty Burger Employ) are sitting in chairs on either side of him.

Mr. Lancer clears his throat and speaks. "Your future is not carved in stone, people, but it may be carved with a No. 2 pencil!" He holds one up for all to see.

Out in the auditorium, Danny and Tucker are sitting next to each other, Sam right behind them with her crossed arms propped on the back of their seats. Danny is sitting up and listening intently, whereas Sam and Tucker look bored out of their minds.

"Oh, please." They whisper in unison.

Danny shushes them. "Quiet, this is important!" He insisted.

Tucker and Sam stare at him, nonplussed, then exchange a look as Lancer continues his pep talk.

"As most of you have probably forgotten, you will be taking the Career Aptitude Test." The letters C.A.T. and the words they stand for are spelled out on the projector screen behind him as he speaks. "On Saturday. Do well, like Ms. Fenton here." He gesturing to Jazz. "Who got the highest score in the history of the C.A.T. and a successful future will be assured!" An image of two obnoxiously rich people flinging money around clicked onto the screen, followed by a fancy car, a mansion strongly resembling Vlad's, and a yacht. Lancer clears his throat, and his voice darkens as he looks over to Irving, who is sleeping with his mouth open and drooling. "However, if you fail like Irving "Third Degree" Burns here, who got the lowest score in the history of the C.A.T., and you will be doomed to a career at the Nasty Burger." An image of the burger joint displays on the projector.

Irving wakes up with a start, obviously insulted he stands up angrily shouting. "Hey! Working at Nasty Burger takes brains, you know! If those 42 Nasty Secret Herbs and Spices in our Nasty Sauce are overheated, it could cause and explosion that could take out a whole city block!"

His words bring him only disgusted faces as the students stare at him, unimpressed.

Irving sighed, walking off the stage in humiliation. "Oh, who am I kidding? My life is over."

Lancer holds up the answer booklet to the CAT knowingly. "These aren't just the answers to the test. They're the answers to your future." He holds up a briefcase and puts the booklet inside, then closes it and handcuffs it to his wrist. "So, study, and remember, it's your future. Do you want fries with it?"

Danny watches as Lancer marches offstage, briefcase in hand. ' _If I could just take a peak then I'd pass for sure.'_ He thought.

Tucker looks to Danny, he grows concern at his friend's blank expression. "Dude, you ok? Danny?"

"What are you waiting for?" The first Observant hissed. "It's the perfect chance to take him out!"

"Yes, he is surrounded by others, he cannot fight back and risk revealing his true identity." The second Observant agreed.

"That's the problem with you Observants." Clockwork argued, as he switches back to his child form. "All you do is observe."

"You know our oath." The first Observant cut in. "To watch –"

"-And never act." Clockwork snapped back. "We all made this oath, but every time you see something you do not agree with you force my hand."

"Are you refusing our order?" The second Observant asked.

"It is against the laws of time for me to eliminate anyone from anytime line you know this." Clockwork argued. "I will however give him a chance to make the right choice." He looks back to the present time rift and fast-forwards time with the rise of his staff and it flashes, the rift now shows Danny studying at his kitchen table. "He turns evil because he's under pressure for some test? Fine. Then perhaps it's time for a test of my own." He says focusing on the boy.

Danny is surrounded by books and working through a C.A.T. sample test. He taps the paper with his pencil for a moment, then drops his head into his hands despairingly. Jazz comes up behind him, peering over his shoulder with both hands on the back of his chair. None of the bubbles have been filled in. She frowns quizzically. Smiling a little, Danny lowers his hand to mark his first answer as A.

Jazz gave a warning sound to signify that he was wrong. Danny looks back at her and she covers her mouth. Frowning and sweating a little, Danny starts to mark B instead.

Jazz raises a finger again, wincing "No-"

Danny lifts his pencil, and goes for C this time.

"Danny I-"

Danny flings his hands in the air, making Jazz flinch back. "OK! I get it! You're brilliant, I'm stupid, and I'll never be able to get as high a score as you." He sighs looking down at his empty sample answer sheet. "So far I'm not even qualified to scrape the grease off the Nasty Grill." He huffs, flicking his pencil away

Jazz looks down on him knowingly. "All I want is for you to succeed, Danny. And doing well on this test can help. There are three things I've learned in life…"

Danny props his head on one hand and glares flatly as she takes on a lecturing tone.

Danny and Jazz suddenly continue the lecture in unison as Danny mocks her proving that he's heard this lecture before. "Study hard, do your best, and -

"DUCK!" Jazz exclaimed as some Metal boomerang comes bursting into the kitchen.

Danny stares at her, thrown for a loop, then the Boomerang clocks him in the back of the head and lands on the table with a clang. "Ow!" he cries clutching his head, then picking up the boomerang. "A boomerang?" He asked quizzically.

His parents, Jack and Maddie come running in.

Still rubbing his head, Danny flings the boomerang off through the living room doorway.

"I call it the Boooooomerang!" Jack gesturing spookily. "It locks in on a ghost's unique ectosignature and seeks it out wherever it goes!"

Suddenly the Booomerang spinning through the living room, changes its path, and starts hurtling back into the kitchen, and it whacks Danny in the head again. Maddie picks it up, frowning down at the device. "Although why it's keyed into Danny is way beyond me."

Jack looks down, noticing the CAT practice test. "What's that, Dan? One of those stupid C.A.T. tests? I failed that, and I didn't turn out to be a cat." He said looking pleased with himself.

Danny moans in despair as his parents trot out of the room. Clenching his fits and growling, Danny glares at the sample sheet. "Oh, I give up—"

Clockwork suddenly steps in and freezes time. "Time out!" he declares.

Danny freezes in the act of sweeping the test and a book off the table, Jazz freezes as she begins to sneeze, and a blue-white light flares in midair, turning into a clock hand that sweeps a blue disc of light into being. It disappears, and adult Clockwork appears in its place along with the Box Ghost, who appears to be asleep or unconscious.

Clockwork looks around, and smiles. "Ah, good his Parents are gone. He's alone with his sister." He flies in a ring around the frozen Danny and Jazz and returns to the Box Ghost. He punches the button on top of his staff, and declares. "Time in!" He then vanishes in a swirling ball of light as Danny's book and sample test land on the floor and Jazz sneezes.

Danny gasped as his ghost sense goes off. "A ghost? Here?" He jumps out of the chair and yells at Jazz. "Now get out of my room!

Jazz looks confused "We're in the kitchen!" However, her expression changes to shock as she sees the Box Ghost floating behind her brother. _'I have to go so he can turn ghost.'_ She realized. "But if that's your attitude, I don't wanna see you - or anything you might do in here in the next several minutes!" She declares, stomping off.

"What's up with her?" Danny asked.

"I am the Box Ghost!" A voice shouts behind him.

Danny rolls his eyes realizing who it is in an instant. "You've got to be kidding me!" he said turning around. "How many times do I have to beat you senseless!" he exclaimed, as he changed into his ghost form.

The Box Ghost screams "Beware!" Before taking off through the kitchen walls, and outside into the street.

Danny gives chase, flying after the Box Ghost, and towards the Nasty Burger. They zoom past Lancer, who is still cuffed to the briefcase, and sitting down at one of the outdoor tables with a burger, fries, and cup of coffee. He looks up as Sam and Tucker approach his table. "Shouldn't you slackers be studying for the C.A.T.s? It's the day after tomorrow students."

"I've already studied." Tucker assured him. "Besides statistic show that cramming two days before overloads the brain."

"I'm sure we'll do fine." Sam assured her teacher.

Lancer picked up the briefcase and pointed at it. "The test answers in this briefcase may indicate otherwise." He warned her. "Enjoy your Nasty Burgers while you're still on this side of the counter. Hahahaha!"

Tucker and Sam look unimpressed at his joke; however, their expressions change as the box for Lancer's burger begins to glow, then smears him in the face with the burger that lies inside as it goes flying off.

"Fast Food Nation!" Lancer declares in shock.

All over the restaurant, people gasp as their food boxes fly off their trays and goes zooming out the door. Above the Nasty Burger, we see it swirl around the Box Ghost as he faces off against Danny.

"Prepare to be defeated by the boxes of this Nasty Establishment!" The Box Ghost says all spokey like.

"Seriously?" Sure, the place is called Nasty Burger, But the restaurant and it's food is not nasty."

Box Ghost looks confused by this, but shakes it off. "I do not care if the food is good, I care about eliminating you with their boxes!" He flings the mass of boxes at him, but Danny goes intangible and it all flies through him.

Oh, come on! You are the Box Ghost you know how this ends!" Danny declares

The Box Ghost suddenly strikes brings both fists down on his head, knocking him out of the air. Falling intangibly through the roof of the Nasty Burger, he lands spread-eagled on a table. The people still inside scream and run out.

Tucker and Sam watch helplessly as scared towns people run past them. Inside, Danny gets up and faces off against The Box Ghost who has followed him in. Behind the counter two employees get up to leave.

"Let's get out of here!" They scream making a run for it!

Irving tries to stop them, putting his hands on his hip he stands in front of them knowingly. "No! You can't leave! As a duly deputized Nastronaut, you took an oath to protect the Nasty Sauce from overheating at all costs!" He pauses as he points to two tall vats. A small dial on the side with a color warning scale has its needle in the green.

"At minimum wage? I don't think so!" The two teen employs run past him, and out the door.

Irving screens after them. "You can kiss Employee of the Month goodbye!"

Flying up over the two vats, Danny gets an Idea. "That's right! He said at the assembly if this stuff gets too hot, kaboom!" He looks over at the condiment station, where there is a box of multicolored Nasty Sauce packets. He picks up one, and flings it at the oncoming Box Ghost.

"Prepare for –" The Box Ghost freezes, mid-sentence as the Nasty Packet lands on his hat.

"Hey Box Ghost." Danny says in a sing-song manner raising one finger, he sends a focused beam at the Nasty Packet. "BEWARE!"

The Nasty Sauce packet swells then explodes, kicking Danny through the wall and blowing the top off the Nasty Burger. Outside, a crowd of people look on, Lancer in front. He raises his briefcase to shield his face from the flying debris, and a sauce-splattered Danny falls through it, intangible, to land next to Sam and Tucker.

Irving stumbles through the front door as Lancer lowers his briefcase. "She's gonna blow!" He exclaimed.

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance! Run!" Lancer screamed like a little girl.

Screaming, everyone but the trio runs.

"Wow Danny did you have to trash the Nasty Burger to defeat one Ghost?" Sam asked.

Danny bit his lip, and changed back to his human form as he gets to his feet. "Okay maybe that was a bit extreme." He admitted.

"A bit?" Sam began to lecture, but Danny is no longer listening as he suddenly notices there is something stuck to his back. He peels it away and gasped as he realizes it's the C.A.T. answer packet. "Oh my gosh. The answers to the C.A.T.s!"

Clockwork and the two Observants are watching closely.

"Now watch this." Clockwork said, gesturing to the Time rift that was showing them all the events as they unfolded before them. "He'll make the right choice. And you'll see, you've got absolutely nothing to—"

Danny holds up the packet triumphantly. "Hello, great future!" he shouts.

Tucker narrowed his eyes at him. "You're not actually thinking of peeking at the answers, are you?"

Danny scoffs, as if surprised by his friend's reaction. "Of course, I am, aren't you?

The first Observant, Melk gasped at his words. "He's stolen the test answers."

The second Observant, Klem added: "He's clearly going to cheat!"

"You must destroy him!" Melk insisted.

"You must destroy him!" Klem agreed.

Clockwork looks cross. "You said that twice." He pointed accusingly as he shifted into child form.

"Destroy him now, Clockwork." Melk says, more demanding this time.

Switching back to adult form, Clockwork sticks his hand in the opening of another rift. "No!" He says. "I told you there are no exceptions, I cannot kill anyone no matter what harm they may cause in the future. I also cannot manipulate him, or influence him to make a better decision." The Rift opens, showing cut scenes of the future, Skulker's images shows briefly, followed by him and Danny fighting. "I put the answers to the test in his hands, and he made the wrong decision."

The rift continues to show images, a smoking wreck of the Nasty Burger appears showing an exposed heating element by the Nasty Sauce tanks. And as the heat meter moves up to yellow Clockwork punches a button on his staff, making the Rift go to static, then it shows one final moment in time. His family and friends and Mr. Lancer stand around the Nasty Burger arguing over something or another. The restaurant explodes, and Danny shielding himself against the blast and Screams "Nooo!"

"It is done!" Clockwork announces floating up in front of the time rift.

"No, you must destroy him, you cannot allow this future to play forward!" Melk cried.

"It is against the Laws of time!" Clockwork insisted.

"Then Change it!" Klem sounded desperate now. "You're the father of Time, you can change the future!"

"I am sorry." Clockwork said, his head bowed. "But it is not my future to change. As of right now in less Danny comes clean about the answers before 5:00 PM on Saturday, The monster of the future that you fear will become a reality."

"You must break the laws!" Klem urged. "At least this once!" he begged.

"I am sorry." Clockwork turned and floated away. "But his future is sealed…"


	3. Cheater, Cheater!

**Chapter 3: Cheater, Cheater**

 **[The next Morning]**

His future,

Danny knew he should be taking it more seriously, and he was, now if only he could just get Tucker and Sam to agree. Oh who was he kidding? Danny Fenton bit his lip warily as he, and his two friends walked down the halls of Casper High. _'Maybe their right.'_ He thought to himself. _'I can't cheat my way through the rest of my life.'_ Still the temptation to do so was over powering, especially when he already had the answers in his hands.

' _Besides the test is tomorrow.'_ He reasoned with his guilt. _'And with all my Ghost fighting I've had not time to study for the CAT!'_

"So, are you going to return the test answers or not?" Sam finally asked. She didn't want to come off as naggy, but the silence had been killing her, that and she really thought Danny would make the right call.

"I will! I will." Danny assured her. "I'm just...waiting for the right moment." He reasoned.

"Like, maybe, after the test?" Tucker joked, knowingly.

Both Sam, and Danny frowns at him.

Tucker scoffed as they pass by the teacher's lounge "Yeah, you're right. You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future."

The door to the teacher's lounge opens, and Lancer looks after them quizzically. Had he heard them right? Where they really talking about cheating? Shutting the door again, he goes to the sofa and sets the briefcase down on the coffee table. He pulls out a key and unlocks the briefcase, and gasps upon finding it empty.

Tucker Folley's words suddenly plagued his mind. " _You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future."_

Lancer shook his head, unsure. _'No, Daniel maybe a slacker, but he would never…or would he?'_

' _It's best to be sure.'_ Lancer thought, as he uncuffed himself from the now empty briefcase. _'But how? I mean I could accuse him, but what if I'm wrong and someone else stole the answers? This is his future were talking about!'_

' _I Know!'_ he suddenly had it! _'I'll get his sister to confirm it for me.'_ He steps out of the teacher's lounge, and sets out to find Jazz Fenton.

Luckily for him the Brainiac wasn't far.

Lancer turns the corner down the hall to see several Casper High girls looking angry as Jazz as she talked away about her successful future. "So, it's a choice between Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and I can't make up my mind!"

The girls all turn and walk away, obviously jealous of her success, and Jazz's smile drops. "So...see you after school?" She asked hopefully.

No answer.

Jazz frowned.

Lancer takes this moment to make his approach, walking up to Jazz he says. "Ms. Fenton, may I speak with you after school?"

Jazz looks alarmed, but nods her agreement just as the bell to head to first period rings around them loudly. "I better get to class." She stuttered, and hurried off.

' _What was that all about?'_ She wondered. She wasn't sure, but something told her it was bad, really bad!

And it was, it was the worst thing she could possibly imagine.

"How can you stand there and do nothing!?" Klem asked Clockwork as they continued to watch the scenes play out before them.

"Just as easily as you do." Clockwork said, emotionlessly. He hated this part of his job, always watching, but doing nothing! He would like to think that he had grown numb to the guilt a long time ago, but that was a lie. Here he was, the master of time, with the power to change current events for the better, and he didn't.

Why?

Because such was law! You could not alter time, it was forbidden, to do so could create a time paradox, which could have disastrous consequences. Like an even worst future then the one they were facing now, for example, or perhaps the total destruction of the time-space continuum. This was why he did nothing, just like he did nothing when the pharaoh killed every first born slave, or when Hitler nearly destroyed all the Jews. Sure it was bad, NO! Devastating was more accurate, however it did not matter, his job was not to manipulate time, no his job was to insure that no one else did.

He was to make sure that everything happened as it was supposed to, no matter how awful it might be.

Clockwork raises his staff once more, and time skips forward again.

The scene in the present day rift shifts to FentonWorks at night. In Danny's room, the trio are sitting in a circle on the floor the answers to the CAT rest between them.

"You're not really going to look are you?" Sam asked.

"Sam, come on." Danny argued. "I'd love to have spent the last month studying, but I was fighting ghosts!"

"So what do you think you deserve a cheat card for all your hard work?" Sam asked annoyed.

"I didn't say cheat." Danny argued.

"You didn't say not cheat." Tucker cut in. "Besides man studying the answers is cheating!"

Danny face-palms. "No it's not, it's just like a study guide okay." He reasoned. "I'll study it for the test and then I'll use my ghost powers to sneak it back into Lancer's office. He'll never know."

"But you'll know." Sam said. "Are you prepared to live with the fact that you cheated at life."

"Oh Come on, you guys both think this test meaningless." He said, taking the test packet in hand. "Why do you even care if I cheat? Why shouldn't I open this up and study the answers, huh?"

Sam and Tucker look at each other, but neither of them have an answer.

"No answer?" Danny asked. "Well that's all the answer I need." He looks down at the packet, hesitating.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Tucker urged Sam.

"I'm his friend, not his mom." Sam argued, giving Danny a dirty look. "He wants to cheat, he can cheat."

Danny's eyes narrowed, turning ghostly green with anger. "It's not cheating, it's studying!" And with those final words he rips off the seal!

Suddenly Danny freezes as his ghost sense goes off. "Seriously a ghost now!" he complains.

Sam and Tucker sigh in relief, only to stop as they notice Danny is watching.

"I mean...Oh no, a ghost." Sam exclaimed sarcastically.

"You see this is a perfect example." Danny said as he changed into his ghost form. "I'd like to have time to study, but they never give me a break!"

"On the contrary ghost boy." A voice said from behind them. "I've been trying to break you since we first met."

Danny Turns to see. "Skulker, seriously why can't the Ghost World's greatest hunter leave me alone, and hunt something that he knows he can catch."

"Yeah like The Box Ghost." Tucker joked.

"No one makes fun of the Ghost World's greatest hunter!" Skulker screams, as he strikes a blow towards Tucker.

Danny leaps at the ghost, who easily backhands him into the wall. He slides to the floor and glares up.

"Oh come on I don't have time for this!" Danny yelled. "I have a test to study for!"

"Do you think I care about your future whelp?" Skulker yelled.

"See Sam, he doesn't care." Danny told his friend. "Now do you see why I need to look at the answers?"

"Danny stop trying to convince me that cheating is okay!" Sam yelled.

"It's not cheating its studying!" Danny argued back!

"Hu guys!" Tucker screamed as several claw-ended arms sprung towards them from out of Skulker.

Danny barely manages to react in time. Going intangible, he snags Tucker and Sam and flies them out of the room. "You'll be safe here." He says, before returns through the door to face off Skulker. "Let's get this over with." He said, annoyed. "I've got some studying to do!"

"The only thing you'll be studying is how painful it will be to be skinned by my blades!" Skulker charges, and grabs Danny by the ankle before slinging him around the room like a rag doll.

Danny grunts in pain as he's banged against his walls and dresser, finally Skulker grabs him by the neck and holds him up above his head. "Say goodbye, Ghost Child!" He chuckled darkly, his claws at the ready to deliver the deathly blow.

Suddenly his gauntlet starts beeping the tune to Reveille.

Skulker froze in horror. "Someone's hacked into the system? Again?! I thought I fixed that!"

Skulker goes intangible, and after dropping Danny, he take off through the ceiling. The bedroom door opens and Tucker and Sam come in.

"Wow. I can still hack into his operating system with my handheld computer. I don't know whether that's exciting or depressing." Tucker admitted sorrowfully.

Danny leaps to his feet. "Come on, follow me!" He goes intangible, and he flies up through the ceiling.

"We'll walk." Tucker tells Sam.

Clockwork presses the button on the top of his staff once more, and again time skips forward several minutes later and the rift shows Jazz and Lancer sitting in the English teacher's office.

"So Why did you call me to your office today Mr. Lancer?" Jazz asked the man before her.

"I overheard your brother and his friends talking about cheating on the CAT, and now the test answers are gone." Mr. Lancer said, getting right to the chase.

Jazz gasped. "So you're saying Danny stole the C.A.T. test answers? But how?"

Lancer sighed. "I don't know" he admitted holding up the still empty briefcase. "Unless your brother suddenly gained the ability to turn invisible and reach through solid objects?"

Jazz bit her lip. She knew Danny had ghost powers and was capable of doing such a thing. _'But Danny would never do that, he's the good guy.'_ "But Mr. Lancer, you still have no proof Danny took the test answers."

Lancer nodded at this. "Fair enough. He has up until test time tomorrow morning to return the answers. But if he cheats, I won't just fail him. I'll destroy his future."

"I understand." Jazz said. "But you're wrong!" She declared as she opened the office door.

"For his sake I sure hope so." Lancer says, ominously as he watched her go.

Jazz closed the door behind her. _'He's wrong.'_ She repeated to herself. _'And I'm going to prove it!'_ She declared, marching back to her house.

The Rift changes once more, this time showing Danny three hours later, chasing Skulker all over town who is still trying to regain control of his suit.

Danny zaps him with an ectoblast, and he falls from the sky to crash into the ruin of the Nasty Burger. The time rift zooms in to see that the heating element is still on, the meter is inching higher. Skulker's head rolls off his battle armor and stops at Danny's feet.

Danny picks it up, and pulls Skulker's tinny form out of it. "Now could you please go back to the Ghost Zone and tell all our friends to leave me alone!" he declared before sucking the hunter into the Fenton-thermos.

"Way to go, Danny!" Tucker exclaimed.

Danny's watch beeps, and he looks down on it in dismay. "Oh no I have 10 minutes until curfew! How am I supposed to study now?"

"You mean cheat!" Sam screamed.

"Sam I told you I'm not cheating!" Danny yelled.

"Yes you are Danny." Sam shouted. "I thought you were better than this!"

"What am I supposed to do?" Danny yelled. "Fail! It's not my fault the ghost never give me time to study. Heck I didn't even want to be a ghost fighter! But no you had to convince me to go look inside the broken portal."

"Oh so it's my fault you have to cheat now!" Sam snapped, obviously offended.

"Sam!" Danny started.

"No I'm done with this, you want to cheat fine, but I want nothing to do with it!" Sam said stopping off.

"Sam wait!" Danny tried to run after her, but Tucker stopped him.

"Let her go man, I'll talk to her, you need to put Skulker back where he belongs anyways."

Danny sighed. "You're right, thanks man."

"No Problem see you tomorrow." He says, before turning to run after Sam.

Danny sighed, and took off into the night air, towards his home.

"It's not too late." Melk said to Clockwork as the time rift went static once more. "You can still stop this."

Clockwork pressed the button on his staff yet again, his expression emotionless. "I must remain unmoved." He told them. "There were countless other times we were begged to act during similar disasters and you said no and watched as innocence paid for your decision." Clockwork explained. "We cannot pick and choose when we follow the rules."

The time rift flips back to life showing Jazz as she sneaks into Danny's room she gasped as she sees the forgotten C.A.T. answer packet lying out on Danny's bedroom floor. Her heart sinks as she relieves the seal has been broken. "No! Danny is a cheater!"

"Stop this now!" Klem begs.

"No." Clockwork answers bluntly. "How many times have I begged you to let me interfere in the past, and you would not allow it?"

"So that's what this is about?" Melk asked. "You are bitter because-"

"You get to choose when to bend the rules, and when not to?" Clockwork cut in. "Yes, but this time I will be making sure you follow the rules!"

"You would risk all of exist just to beat us at our own game?" Klem asked.

"Have you not done the same?" Clockwork snapped back.

"This is not about us!" Melk hissed. "It is about him."

"Yes." Clockwork seemed to agree. "It is about him, and it is his decision to make."

"Then you have doomed us all!" Melk screamed.

"Then so be it." Clockwork emotionless tone cut through the air like a knife. This wasn't what he wanted, but then again it never was, and now for once it was the same for the Observants too. Sure some would calm him childish to risk the future over a little revenge, but he was the Master of time, he saw all.

He could see every possible outcome, of this story, and none of them showed a world where the Dark Danny Phantom did not exist.

"To stop this now will only be prolonging the inevitable." Clockwork warned.

"Then destroy him! We don't care just do something!" Melk was begging now.

"Time is a funny thing." Clockwork mused, and surprised them by even cracking a smile. "If you eliminate Danny Phantom, it won't stop this end from coming. If time has decided the world shall be devastated by a villain then it will just chose another to replace him. The future will not change, life is simply a means to an end. You cannot create without first destroying all that lies in your way."

"This is the talk of madness." Melk snapped, pointing a finger accusingly.

"Yes it is." Clockwork agreed. "Time is not for the sane or for the faint of heart."

The time rift shifted to show Danny in his parents' lab, where he is currently dumping Skulker back into the Ghost Zone. "And stay gone!" Danny yelled as the portal closed behind him.

"Nothing is going to change your mind is it?" Melk asked.

"It is not my mind that needs changing." Clockwork argued.

"Danny we need to talk!" Jazz said barging into the lab.

Danny turned. "Jazz I can explain!" he began.

"Save it Danny." Jazz argued, holding up the answers to the CAT. "I can't believe you cheated!"

"You were snooping around in my room!" Danny yelled furious. "Jazz you had no right to-"

"Yes, I did I'm trying to help you. Don't you understand? You're ruining your future?"

"No I'm saving it!" Danny yelled. "You wouldn't understand! You don't even know the half of it!" he says, snatching the answer packet away from her.

Jazz sighed. "Danny, I know all of it. About everything. That you're part ghost. That you're always doing the right thing with your powers. Until now."

Danny looks at her surprised. "You knew?"

Jazz nodded. "Yes, and I've been covering for you with Mom and Dad because I'm proud of you, and the good that you do. But not anymore."

"Jazz these ghost have ruined my life! If you really know what's going on then you know that I'm going to fail that test tomorrow because I never have time to study!" Danny yelled.

"At least you would give your honest effort." Jazz argued back.

"Look I've got no time for this." Danny argued. The test is tomorrow and it's already 11 o clock!"

"Fine go cheat!" Jazz yelled.

"You're not going to stop me?" Danny asked surprised.

"No I want to give you a chance to make the right decision Danny." Jazz told him. "Like the hero I know you are." She said as she started up the basement stairs. "But if you haven't come clean by the end of the test, I'm telling mom, and Mr. Lancer. Hero's don't cheat Danny, villains do, and Cheater's never win!"

Danny watched as he walked up the stairs, and he continued to watch even long after she disappeared from his sight. Finally he looked down at the test packet in his hands. He hadn't looked at it yet, there was still time to do the right thing. _'And spend the rest of my life sweeping the floors at Nasty Burger? No way!'_

Ever since he had become part ghost his life had been going downhill, now he had a chance to turn everything around. "I'm sorry Jazz." He whispered, "But I have to pass that test!"

"See not even his sister can change his mind." Clockwork told the Observants. "What could I possibly do that she has not already done?" He explained.

But for once the Observants had nothing to say, nothing at all!


	4. Cheaters Never Win

**Author's Notes:** I know I'm updating pretty fast, but that's because this story is already written on paper, and I'm just typing it up, and reviewing it before I post it. Please let me know what you guys think, and as always I ask that you enjoy the story.

 **Warning:** Character deaths!

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Cheaters Never Win**

 **(Next Morning: Saturday)**

 **[Time: 08:00, Time for the C.A.T]**

Danny could feel his heart hammering in his chest, was he mad? Had he lost his mind? All he wanted to do was study the answers so he'd have a better chance, but now he actually was cheating! Danny had very little progress absorbing, and remembering all the answers, so here he was with the answer booklet hidden in his lap under his desk.

He tensed as Mr. Lancer walked down his aisle, passing his desk without a second glance.

Students all around him scribbled out their test answers, finally satisfied that he does not see anyone with the answer booklet, Lancer sits down at his desk, and opens his book of poetry.

Danny sneaks a peak at the answer key under his desk, then randomly starts filling in correct answers. He knows this is wrong, deep down he knows he should come clean now, but Lancer had no proof, as long as he got rid of the test answers once he finished the test; he was golden.

He chanced a glance at his friends; Tucker looks shocked, and Sam looks disappointed.

"Danny, don't!" Tucker whispered. "Sam's right you're better than this."

"Shhh!" Sam warned, not wanting Danny to get caught, sure she was mad at him, but that didn't mean she wanted him to get in trouble.

Lancer looks up from his book "Mr. Foley, Mr. Fenton. Is there a problem?"

Sam, and Tucker look at Danny hopefully.

"No Mr. Lancer." Danny said quickly. "No Problem at all."

Lancer looks away, and back down to his book of poems, reading on.

Danny watches him a few moments, before he starts copying answers from the answer sheet again. He feels like there is a frog in his chest climbing up into his throat. Still there is no turning back now, he has already started cheating, if he's caught now he could be expelled! He scribbles in his last few answers, and closes his booklet.

He was finished, he had done it!

Danny slipped the answer key back into his book bag unseen, and stood shaking only slightly; before he walked as calmly as possible up to Lancer's desk, test booklet in hand.

The aisle seemed to drag on before him, like it would never end, like he would never reach the teacher's desk.

But he does, and he lays his test booklet down before Lancer.

"Finished already, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer asked flatly.

"Is that a problem?" Danny asked fearfully.

"How should I know?" Lancer asked. "I don't have all the answers. Do you?"

Danny almost crumbled at that question. Did Jazz tell on him after all?

No, he was just being paranoid. "May I go?" he asked.

"Yes of course." Lancer stated, and shook his head as Danny left the classroom. He then sighs reaching for his cell phone and dials 555-1221 for FentonWorks.

It rings once!

"Hello?" Maddie asked on the other end of the phone line.

"Mrs. Fenton? It's Mr. Lancer." Lancer said, talking low, but Sam and Tucker still heard his every word. "Could you meet me at the Nasty Burger at say, 5 o'clock?" He looks out the window and sees Danny walking across the school lawn. "And bring Danny."

"Why is something wrong?" Maddie asked.

"I'm not sure." Lancer admitted. "But maybe you can help me find out."

"We have to warn him." Tucker whispered.

"Why should we, he made his choice." Sam said flatly.

"He's our friend Sam, he'll get expelled for this." Tucker reasoned.

"Good, maybe next time he'll learn." She said. However, she openly bit her lip in worry, Danny's future could be over. They had to do something. "Ok well go to the Nasty Burger at 5 and we'll try to convince Lancer to go easy on him."

"Thank you Sam." Tucker said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Don't thank me yet." Sam warned.

"There is still time." Melk piped up.

Clockwork sighed. "Yes, if he comes clean before 5 there is still a chance for him to fix this."

"No I meant there is still time for you to fix this." Melk said.

"It is not my mess to fix." Clockwork said, but his tone was not as unmoved as he like it to be. In truth he usually was the one that would be begging the Observants to allow him to intervene, but not this time. He would teach them this lesson, besides they were right, he was right.

The laws were there for a reason.

Danny turned intangible, and slipped the answer key back into Mr. Lancer's office. ' _There now he'll never know it was me.'_

' _But you'll know.'_ Sam's words cut through him like ice. _'Will you be able to live with the fact that you cheated?'_

Danny ignored the guilt and slipped back out into the school yard, and begins his walk home.

Jazz stops by Lancer's door window giving the teacher a hopeful look.

Lancer gave her a sad look and shook his head.

Jazz's eyes widen, and she takes off running down the hall, tears streaming from her eyes. _'Danny why!?'_

Clockwork presses the button on his staff, and pushes time forward once more. Trying his best to ignore his own guilt. _'Nothing I would have done would have change this_.' He knew this, and he had seen all the possibilities of this story flash before his eyes in an instant. Sure he could try to manipulate Time, but a thousand different scenarios could take place if he mess with the time stream. And in the end, his meddling could have the same outcome, or an even worse one.

It was best not to get involved.

The time rift stops zooming forward and shows the wreckage of the Nasty Burger, the tanks are still over heating; and the indicator needle shudders higher.

Lancer stands before the restaurant, Danny's CAT test in hand. His perfect score has furthered his suspicions, and even though he found the answer key in his office moments after the rest of the students left; he was still convince that Danny had cheated somehow.

A car pulls up, it's the Fenton RV, and its head lights illuminate the parking lot. Maddie parks a good ways away from the Nasty Burger, looking unsure. "Mr. Lancer sounded urgent on the phone. Danny, is something wrong?"

"Yeah Danny?" Jazz asked, "Is something wrong?"

Danny bit his lip as he looked at her.

Her eyes were puffy from crying so much, and the look she gave him was one of pure disappointment.

"No everything is fine." Danny lied.

"You're unbelievable!" Jazz snapped as she opened her door and marched out of the car.

"Well let's go see what this is all about." Jack said. "I've got a very explosive invention on hold because of this."

Maddie nodded and watched as he got out, she then turned to look at Danny. "Are you sure nothing is wrong."

"You're guess is as good as mine." Danny lied, clearing his throat.

"Okay well let's go see then." His mother said, and they both got out of the car.

Danny's legs felt unstable, as they all walked up to Lancer.

Lancer cleared his throat before beginning. "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Daniel, Jazz this is the Nasty Burger. When people fail, this is where they end up whether they fail because they don't study, or because they cheated." He holds up Danny's test for his parents to see.

Jack and Maddie gasp.

"Danny! Is this true?" His father asked.

"Did you cheat?" His mother cried.

"I…I…" Danny tried to find the words, he looked to Jazz hopefully.

"Just tell them the truth Danny, it's the only thing that can help you now." Jazz said.

Danny sighed. "Yes…" he admitted. "I…I cheated."

"Daniel!" Maddie exclaimed.

"Son Fenton's are geniuses we don't need to cheat!" Jack shouted.

"But you don't understand." Danny tried to explain. "I had to!"

"Save it Daniel." Lancer said. "Once I return to School on Monday I will let the school board know of this, and you will be expelled." He vowed.

"Wait!" Sam exclaimed as she and Tucker rushed over. "You can't do that!"

"Sam? Tucker?" Danny asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your butt." Sam said.

"Please Mr. Lancer, Please give Danny a second chance." Tucker begged.

"I'm sorry Mr. Foley, but I gave Danny time to come clean, and so did his sister." Lancer explained.

"Danny I can't believe you would cheat like this." His mother was dumbfounded.

"Mom I…" Danny began.

"No just go to the car." She said. "While I try to fix this."

Danny bowed his head in shame, and dragged his feet towards the car.

"Isn't there some other way to punish him?" His mother said hopefully. "How about Detention or Community service?"

"No, this is a serious offense." Lancer explained. "This is a state issued test Mrs. Fenton, his punishment is out of my hands."

"But he's 14!" Jazz exclaimed. "Couldn't the state let him off with a warning?"

"They might." Lancer said. "But I wouldn't count on it."

Danny reaches the car, and opens his side door. "Way to go Fenton." He scoffed at himself. "You really blew it this time."

"You don't know the half of it child." Clockwork whispered.

And that's when it happened,

It started with a slight tremor of the ground around them.

"Hey did you guys feel that?" Jazz asked.

Danny turned towards the sound of her voice, only to be blinded by a brilliant white light.

The explosion shook the ground around him, and rubble flew by him at what looked to be the speed of light. And when the light of the explosion cleared, Danny's jaw dropped open as he fell to his knees, his hair flowing back with the aftershock. "NOOOOO!" He screamed.

"When his heart grows dark you will be the one to blame!" Melk hissed.

"I do not command time." Clockwork said. "She does what she pleases, and this is the fate she has decided."

"What's the point in having all that power if you don't use it?" Klem asked.

Clockwork merely turned off his many rifts with a wave of his staff. "It is finished!" He told them. "Now leave."

"Fine we will!" Melk hissed, and the two observers turned and walked away, but not without a final word in. "But mark my words Clockwork, you will come to regret this!"

However, what they didn't know is he already did.

Clockwork sighed, but what could he do?

Nothing; he could do nothing to stop this, no one could; not even Danny could change things now. "I hate this job." Clockwork said walking away.

* * *

 **(Back with Danny…)**

He was alone,

Alone and afraid next to the burning remains of the Nasty Burger.

"No please, no!" Danny screamed, he runs forward to try and save them, hoping that maybe they were still alive under all the debris.

Someone grabbed him from behind, it was a passerby, who had also witnessed the tragedy. "Are you crazy you can't go in there it's too hot."

"Let me go!" Danny screamed, "My family is in there!" he can hear sirens going off in the distance, but he knows they won't make it in time.

He tries to go ghost, but fails, the blast must have shorted out his powers somehow. The realization hits Danny like a shock wave, and he gives up the fight. He was powerless to stop this, he was powerless to save them. "This is all my fault." He whispered.

The passerby shook his head, as Danny cries in his arms. "What could you have done?" he asked.

' _I could have given the test an honest effort.'_ He thought. _'I could have been honest about cheating.'_

But the realization comes too late.

' _Cheaters never win.'_ Jazz's words consumed him.

"Make it stop!" he screamed, as the pain and the guilt filled him. "Make it stop!" The sirens drown out his words. And soon firemen are rushing out of their trucks trying to get the flames under control. A squad car stops beside Danny and the Passerby.

"Sir, can you tell me what happened here?" The officer, a young man in his twenties asked.

"My family, my friends, Mr. Lancer!" Danny exclaimed, bursting out of the other man's hold and grabbing at the cop's collar. "You have to help them!"

"Son calm down." The officer insisted.

"But they're still in there!" Danny screamed.

"You mean there are people in there?" The officer goes ghost white. "Who's in there kid, tell me!"

"Danny?" Danny turned to see half the town, or maybe even the whole town standing behind him.

Tucker's parents step forward.

"Danny." Tucker's mother says again. "Please tell me Tucker is with you!"

Sam's parents rush up as well.

"Daniel have you seen Sam?" Sam's mother asked.

Danny can't find the words, he feels sick.

"Danny where are they!" Mr. Foley exclaimed.

"I…I'm sorry." Danny said, looking towards the roaring flames. "I'm so sorry."

"NO!" Tucker's mom falls to her knees, "My baby!"

Her scream made him forget how to breathe, he gasped for air, but found he had none.

"Oh no he's going into shock!" The officer said. "I need a Manic!" He shouts, but no one can hear him over the chaos. "Can someone help this boy?"

"I can!" A voice screams out.

Danny watches, stunned as Valerie Gray comes rushing to his side.

"Miss I can't let you help him if you're not certified." The officer said.

Valerie ignores him, and stets to work. "Danny?" She asked. "Fenton are you ok?"

"It's ok I'm certified." Her father Mr. Gray said, as he stepped forward from the still growing crowd.

The officer still looks unsure.

Mr. Gray puts a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay they're in the same class. He'll feel better with her then some stranger with a PHD."

The cop seemed to nod at this. "Yeah you're probably right." He agreed, as he watched Valerie as she continued to look him over, and try to get him to calm down. "That poor kid."

"It's okay Danny just breathe." Valerie insisted, but Danny was still gasping for air.

Valerie threw her arms around him, holding him close. "It's going to be okay." She promised him. "You'll see it's going to be okay. Just match my breathes okay?"

Danny nodded, his mind going into Auto pilot, he begins to take deep long breathes, and soon he manages to breathe easier.

"There you go." She whispered, "Now you're doing it."

Tears steam down Danny's face. "Why." He asked. "Why help me?"

Valerie sighed, looking around at the chaos that surrounded her. "Because…" She said. "I've been here before."


	5. Funeral Voices

**Chapter 5: Funeral Voices**

 **(One week after the accident…)**

The days after went by in a blur for Danny…

That night Danny had had been take to the hospital where he stay for observation. The next morning the police came to ask questions. And Danny told them everything, even that he cheated on the test. But the officers didn't cuff him after hearing the news, instead one of them said. "Get some rest, the doctors say you can leave soon."

"Do you have anyone else to look after you?" The second officer asked, she was a slim woman with red hair, and brilliant green eyes.

Danny shook his head crying. "I have an Aunt, but she doesn't live here."

"What's her name?" The First officer, a widely built man asked.

"Aunt Alicia." Danny had answered. "Her maiden name is Chester, she's my Mom's sister."

"We'll track her down." The male officer said.

"In the meantime do you know anyone you can stay with until you we do?"

Of course if this had been any other emergency Danny would have chosen to stay with Tucker or Sam. But they were gone too, and Danny didn't know if he could take hearing their parent's screams of pain again. So he shook his head.

"He can stay with us." Valerie had said.

Of course Danny was shocked by this, up until the accident Valerie had been one of the more popular kids that bullied him, and his friends. She was also a ghost hunter who had tried to kill Danny Phantom more than once.

Her father agreed almost imminently. "It will be just until you locate his Aunt." He assured them. "Besides Danny may feel better around people he knows."

The officers nodded.

"Are you okay with that son?" The Male officer asked Danny.

Danny looked at Valerie, who gave him a reassuring smile, and Danny found that he liked that smile. He liked the fact that he had someone here to be there for him, even if it was one of the least expected people that he ever thought would help him. It was nice all the same, it was nice to know he wasn't alone.

And that night Danny found himself in the guest bed room of the Gray's home, though he didn't sleep very well that night, or any night since. The doctor's had prescribed medicine to numb the pain and help him sleep, but Danny didn't take it because when he slept he dreamed. And when he dreamed, he dreamed of losing them.

He dreamed of the mistake that had cost him everything!

It took the Police three days to find Aunt Alicia, she was deep in the south of Texas, and the moment she saw Danny was the moment she fell apart!

Danny had never seen his Aunt Alicia cry, she was a big, strong woman, with skin as thick as bricks. Or so he thought, turns out Aunt Alicia was once a lot like his mom, a thin pretty thing that was just as fragile and full of love, but then her ex-husband broke her heart, and that's when she changed. She worked out more, grew muscle; she became a survivalist so nothing could ever hurt her again, man or otherwise.

However, it would appear that all her hard work could not shield her from this.

"It's going to be okay now." She told him, though it was hard to tell who she was trying to convince. "We have each other." She cried. "We still have each other."

' _It's going to be okay.'_

Everyone kept telling him that, but their words did little to ease the pain. Nothing seemed to help make the pain go away, and the guilt that came with it ate at his very soul.

He just wanted it to go away, they say he'd feel better someday! But he wanted to feel better now, he wanted to go numb, but he kept on feeling; kept on regretting!

Danny sighed as he tightened the tie for his suite, the funeral was today.

Sam's and Tucker's parents decided that they should all just have one big funeral, of course there was no bodies to burry, they had evaporated into ash in seconds. But the town had created a statue in their honor, and would be presenting it at the ceremony that day.

"You ready Sport?"

Danny turned to see his Aunt Alicia, she was wearing a black dress. His Aunt Alicia rarely wore dresses, she always said they got in the way. However this one was special.

"Your mother got me this one." She said. "She asked me what color dress I wanted to wear to her wedding and I said black." She shook her head. "It was a joke of course, I never did approve of your father, but she took me seriously, and I wear it, too ashamed to admit how cruel I had been."

"I think it looks nice." Danny managed to say even though it was a plain black dress, with nothing special.

Aunt Alicia embraced him. "I miss them too, and don't worry we'll make this work."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked.

"Look I know it must hurt to stay here, but Danny I think it's best for you to be around the people who have grown up with you since you were born." Aunt Alicia. "There is no better healing, then the healing of friends."

"My friends are gone." Danny said bitterly.

"Not all of them." Aunt Alicia said. "That Valerie girl seems to be nice, she and her father were awfully kind to let you and me stay with them."

Danny found a smile slipping on his face, she was right, Valerie had been very supportive, though he wasn't sure why. In this week alone she had never left his side, she took the whole week off from school and made sure he was okay. She had a marathon of cheesy old timey movies playing in the living room for him, and when he was ready to talk she listened.

"This is all my fault." He had told her one night after waking up screaming from another dream, another nightmare.

"Danny I know that's not true." Valerie told him, sitting on the bed beside him.

"But it was." Danny sobbed. "If I had not cheated on the CAT we would have never been at the Nasty Burger."

"You cheated?" Valerie had asked, her voice was one of surprise.

"I found the answers outside of Nasty Burger the day it originally blew." Danny lied.

"Oh right that Thursday before the test, with the ghost attack." Valerie realized out loud.

"Yeah, I saw them, and the temptation was too great for me, I use the answers and cheated, and Lancer found out somehow, and he asked that me and my family come to Nasty Burger to discuss my actions"

"And Sam and Tucker?" Valerie asked. "Why were they there?"

"They were trying to beg Lancer to give me a second chance." Danny moaned. "Go ahead call me a monster, I am one aren't I?"

Valerie sighed, and embraced him. "We all make mistakes Danny, but blaming ourselves doesn't make it better. Believe me I know."

Danny remembered crying in her arms for a long while after that.

"Just promise me you'll try to make it work." His Aunt Alicia whispered, her words pulling him from his thoughts. "Promise me you want shut down, or go suicidal. Promise me you'll hold your head up high, and try to move on."

"I…" Danny began unsure.

"Your Parents would have wanted you to stay here, in the town where they were born, where they fell in love. They'd want you to stay here and live on for them."

"Then I will." Danny said. "I promise."

"You two all set in here?" Mr. Gray asked walking into Danny's temporary room.

"Yep." Aunt Alicia said pulling away from the hug. "And I just want to say thanks again Damon, for letting us crash here."

"Of course." Damon, Valerie's father brushed it off. "I know how hard it is to stay in a home you use to share with someone you loved." He paused. "Someone who isn't here anymore."

Danny walked out of the room, he didn't want to be rude, but if Valerie's dad was about to cry, he didn't want to see it.

He had seen enough tears to last a life time…maybe even two life times.

Danny walked outside, and sat on the porch of the Gray's home. He sighed deeply, depression showed in the autumn air. It reminded Danny of his ghost sense. He hadn't gone ghost since before the accident, could he even still do it? Or had that blast rid him of his power for good?

' _Only one way to find out.'_ He thought. He focused on his hand, and made it turn intangible. "Well looks like they still work after all." He whispered, as his hand went back to normal. Danny looked around him puzzled, no ghost attacks had happened since the accident. It was almost as if the ghost world was respecting his space.

Not that it really mattered, since Danny wasn't even sure if he could fight ghost anymore. ' _I've never fought a Ghost without Sam, and Tucker.'_ He told himself knowingly. _'What if it's too much for me on my own?'_

"Can I join you?"

Danny looked up to see Valerie, she was also dressed in black, but her dress looked way more expensive then Aunt Alicia's. He nodded, and Valerie sat down beside him.

"How are you holding up?" She asked.

Danny went to answer, but Valerie scoffed at herself.

"What kind of question is that?" She lectured herself. "That's like asking someone does it hurt after they stub their toe, of course it does!" She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Everyone's sorry." Danny said. "Everyone wants to help, everyone says it will be fine." He sighed, putting his knees to his chest and hiding his face. "But no one can help, the pain will never go away."

"You're right." Valerie said. "It won't go away, not completely; but it will get easier to bare. You'll see."

Danny looked up at her, looking like a lost puppy. "How do you know?"

Valerie sighed. "I'll show you how." She said. "At the cemetery after the ceremony."

"Ok." Danny said.

"You two kids ready?" Valerie's dad asked as he and Danny's Aunt stepped outside.

The two kids nodded.

"Then let's go." Valerie's dad said.

The car ride to the cemetery was short, and silent.

That was Danny's life now.

Silence!

No phone ringing excitedly with Dad on the other line screaming about curfew. Or Tucker and Sam screaming about some ghost they had to catch. No Jazz standing over his shoulder giving him her two sense. No over showering of love from his mother. No more _'you can do better if you try.'_ from Mr. Lancer.

Nothing!

The funeral left a stale taste in Danny's mouth, a part of him was still having a hard time believing that this was reality. He wanted to wake up from a dream, or a nightmare as he would most likely call it, and find out it was all his imagination.

Nothing but pretest anxieties.

Oh how he wished that was true.

After the preacher spoke the Mayor presented a statue, it was large marble stone with Mr. Lancer, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Jazz, Tucker, and Sam carved in it. The Statue read. _"Gone, but never forgotten."_

Danny couldn't take it anymore, he ran away from the crowd, and deeper into the cemetery.

"Danny wait." His Aunt called after him.

"I'll go get him." Valerie said, running after him.

Danny ran, he ran until he couldn't run no more, and when that moment came he collapsed, on his knees. Tears streamed from his eyes.

' _I thought you were better than this.'_

" _If he wants to cheat let him cheat.'_

' _Cheaters never win Danny.'_

' _Fenton's are Genius, we don't need to cheat.'_

' _Just go to the car while I try to fix this mess.'_

' _Sam's right, you're better than this.'_

' _I don't have all the answers, do you?'_

Danny put his hands to his ears. "Stop!" he screamed. "Just make it stop!"

"Danny?" Valerie came up from behind him.

"Just go away!" Danny shouted. "You keep saying you know how I feel, but you can't possibly know!" Danny yelled, getting to his feet and glaring at her.

"You feel like it's your fault." Valerie said. "You keep playing it back in your mind, every word that was said before it happened."

Danny stopped. "How do you know that?"

Valerie sighed, and took his hand. "There's something I want to show you." She began to walk down the rows of graves, and Danny allowed her to lead him on. Finally they stopped in front of a tombstone with a very familiar last name on it.

 _Rachel Gray_

Danny gasped. "Valerie is that…"

"My Mom?" Valerie asked, and nodded. "Yeah it is."

"What happened?" Danny dared to ask.

"It was raining really hard, and she was driving a bit too fast. Some driver pulled out in front of her, and she didn't have any time…to…to get out of the way." Valerie explained, only stuttering slightly at the end.

"Valerie I'm so sorry." Danny said. Of course he should have understood what she meant when she said I know how you feel. Or I've been here before, because she had! He was such a jerk.

"It's okay, I never told you." She said. "It happened two years ago, mom and I got into a big fight over moving because of her new job. I didn't want to leave because all my friends were here. I told her I hated her for ruining my life." Valerie sniffled. "She was hurt by my words and left to go on a drive to clear her head, she always did that when she was upset."

"It wasn't your fault." Danny whispered. "The driver should have been paying attention."

"And one of those Employees at the Nasty Burger should have known it wasn't safe for people to be around there." Valerie told him. "They should have had the place blocked off to the public."

Danny knew she had a point, but it did little to quell the pain. "How did you do it?" he asked. "How did you learn to live with it?"

"It wasn't easy." Valerie admitted. "But I can help you." She said. "Please let me help you."

Danny thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay I'll give your way a try." He vowed.

Valerie forced a smile as they embraced again.

"So what's the first step?" he asked, pulling away.

"Going back to school." Valerie said.

Danny sighed, but force a nod all the same, he had come clean to the cops about cheating, but since he had already been through enough the State had decide to let him off with a light warning instead of expelling him.

"Danny if you're not ready." Valerie said. "I understand."

"No it's okay." He told her. "Maybe it will be a good distraction."

Valerie nodded. "That's all you can hope for now." She admitted, being honest with him. "Plenty and plenty of Distractions."


	6. Picking Up The Pieces

**Chapter 6: Picking Up the Pieces**

 **(The Next Day)**

School…

Somehow Danny thought it would be different, he really did. However, unfortunately school was just a cruel, and just as unbearable as usual.

Danny yelp as Dash Baxter, the football team quarter back rammed him into yet another locker. "How does it feel Fen-turd!" he scoffed. "How does it feel to know that you're the reason your parents and friends are gone!"

Danny winced, word of his cheating had traveled fast, and now everyone was giving him a hard time. Everyone was against him, saying it was his fault they were dead, even Mr. Lancer was missed, but only because he had been replace with an even more annoying teacher.

"Now thanks to you we have to put up with Mrs. Wade." Dash screamed, grabbing him by the collar. "And she smells, and looks old enough to be my great-great grandmother! I'm gonna wale on you so hard for this!"

Danny struggled to get free. "Leave me alone Dash!"

"What's the matter Fen-turd?" Dash scoffed. "Ain't got no more friends to save you from me?"

Danny winced as he realized, school had changed after all; because now he was alone!

"Not surprising since you killed them all!" Dash spat in his face.

"I didn't kill them!" Danny screamed. "It was an accident."

"Let him go Dash!" Valerie snapped, appearing beside him.

"Valerie?" Dash was surprised. "You're siding with this murder!?"

"He's not a murder!" Valerie snapped. "He's just a kid, who just lost everything. So give him a break you jerk!"

"Fine." Dash said dropping Danny. "You know you should have done us all a favor and died with them!" He snapped, before walking away.

"Don't listen to him." Valerie said, offering him her hand.

Danny took it, and allowed Valerie to pull him to his feet. "How did he even find out?" he wondered out loud.

"Star's mom is one of the nurses that treated you." Valerie explained. "She was there when you told the cops you cheated on the test. Star's mom told her and her Dad over dinner, and then Star to Paulina, who told the cheerleaders, who told Dash, and now-"

"And now everyone knows." Danny sighed.

"Listen if you want to ditch I'm so there." Valerie told him.

Danny shook his head. "It's tempting, but I promised my Aunt I would try making it work here." Danny explained. "She thinks moving me somewhere else will only make me feel even more alone."

"You're not alone." Valerie told him. "You've got me."

Danny smiled, and the bell sounded around them. "I guess I better go." He said.

"I'll see you at lunch." Valerie assured him. "We can sit together if you want."

"I'd like that." Danny admitted. "See you." He said before heading off to class.

"See you." Valerie whispered, as she watched him go. "He'll be okay." She whispered, and then she added, "At least I hope so."

* * *

 **(Later on at Lunch)**

He was trying,

Danny Fenton really was trying, but everywhere he went the truth slapped him in the face, and it all started with first period. When Danny entered the class his Math Teacher, Mrs. Shaw told him his new seat was in the back of the class. Danny obeyed and moved to the back row which was usually populated by most of the class since no one wanted to listen.

Not this time, everyone squeezed into the first three rows of desk, leaving a whole row in between them and Danny.

"Do you think we're far enough away from him?" Star asked, as she and Paulina sat down in the third row.

"I sure hope so." Paulina said. "I'm too young and pretty to die!"

"Wow Fen-turd" Dash scoffed. "Even Mrs. Shaw is too scared to let you near her. I guess being a murder has its perks!"

"I didn't murder them!" Danny yelled!

"Sure you didn't." Dash mused.

"Dash careful." Paulina streaked.

"Yeah you don't want to be next." Star warned.

Danny tried to ignore them, he tried to stay positive; he even tried to engage in the class discussion.

But no one payed attention to him, and whenever he raised his hand to answer a question on the board Mrs. Shaw just ignored him.

And every other class after that was the same way, he was forced by the teacher to sit in the back of the class, and no one sat near him. No one talked to him, no one payed attention to him!

And now even in lunch the same rules applied, Danny sat at a table in the back of the cafeteria, and everyone else sat at least 3 tables away from him; well everyone but Valerie.

"You really don't have to risk your social life for me." Danny insisted, as she sat down beside him.

"Danny I promised I would help you through this." Valerie said. "We're friends, and friends do not abandon each other."

"Thanks Valerie." He said.

"Val." Valerie said. "My friends call me Val."

"Val," Danny smiled. "Thanks."

'"Things will get better you'll see." Valerie promised him.

Danny nodded, though he wasn't convinced. He picked up his fork and began to pick at his food, though he wasn't really hungry. The pain in his chest had grown tighter as the day progressed, and now it was almost unbearable. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something happy, something up lifting.

Nothing!

He opened his eyes and looked around the Lunchroom, looking for something to distract him from the pain, but everywhere he looked he was reminded of them.

Sam and Tucker should be sitting beside him, Jazz should be sitting two tables over with a mountain of books taking up the whole table. And Mr. Lancer should be scowling at the lunch lady, discussing what he thought of her "Mystery meat."

Danny dropped his fork. "I can't do this." He whispered, tears in his eyes.

"Danny I know it's hard but give it some time." Valerie insisted.

"No I can't take it any-" Danny froze midsentence as his ghost sense cut him off. He gasped looking around expectantly.

"Danny are you okay?" Valerie asked.

Suddenly a giant ghost spider jumped down from the celling screeching loudly.

"Everyone Run!" Star cried.

"I have to go!" Danny and Valerie said at the same time, they gave each other and awkward look before running off in opposite directions.

Valerie pressed a button on her watch, allowing her ghost fighting suit to form around her, she tapped her feet together and her surf jet deployed from her boots. She turns in the air to face off the spider, "Alright ugly it's time we put you to sleep for good!"

The spider screeched and began to throw ecto-webs at the ghost hunter.

Danny ran behind a trash can and cried. "Going ghost!" Danny transformed to his ghost-self in an instant and zoomed off to Valerie aid. "Watch out!" he cried to Valerie.

"Get lost Ghost-boy before I make you." She screamed, looking away from the spider.

The ghost-spider saw its opening and leaped, pouncing at Valerie and sending them through the cafeteria windows shattering them from the force.

Valerie lands on the ground of the school yard with the beast above her, its mouth dripped with green saliva.

"Valerie!" Danny screamed, he flies after them.

"Get off of me you gross thing!" Valerie yells grabbing a branch, and just before the spider can bit her head off she used the small tree limb to shield herself.

The spider snaps at her, trying to get threw her small defenses.

"Leave her alone!" Danny yells, ramming into the spider; which knocks it off of Valerie, and several feet away.

"Are you okay?" Dany asked.

"What do you care Ghost Boy!" She shouts firing at him with her ecto-wrist blaster.

Danny dodges the blast, but just barely. "Hey I'm not the enemy here." He screams.

"And I'm supposed to believe you!" she screamed, getting to her feet. "When you ruined my life!"

"That wasn't my dog!" he exclaimed.

"Sure it wasn't just like that's not your spider!" Valerie yelled pointing at the beast, which was currently getting back on its feet.

"Of course not!" Danny exclaimed. "You know not every ghost attack is my fault."

"Then why are you always here when they happen." Valerie challenged, aiming her weapon at him again.

"I'm trying to stop them, I'm trying to protect people!" Danny yelled.

"And why would a ghost care?" Valerie screamed.

The spider charged for her, but Valerie was too busy yelling at Danny to act in time.

Danny however, saw it coming for her, and in a split second decision he pushes her out of the way, the spider tackles him.

Valerie recovers quickly, and looks to the struggling ghost boy. "He saved me…" she whispered. "But why?"

Danny tries to push the beast off of him, but it's too big. "Tucker, Sam, help!" he screamed.

But no one came to his aid.

' _That's because they're gone.'_ Danny realized _. 'And they're never coming back.'_

The Spider hissed and bites him deep in the chest. Danny screams, and as a wave of pain, and weakness washes over him, her changes back to his human form.

"Danny!" Valerie exclaimed, _'Danny's the Ghost kid!'_ She is so shocked she almost doesn't act.

Almost!

"Get away from him you monster!" Valerie screamed and fired her ecto-wrist blaster. It hits its target, and the spider explodes into a pile of ecto goop. "DANNY!" Valerie runs to his aid, she's by his side in minutes, her ghost hunting suit vanishes, as she does so. "Danny can you hear me!"

Danny blinks at her, but her voice sounds far away, and his vision is blurred, so he can only see a shadow of her. "Sam, Is that you?" he asked.

"I'm here Danny." Her voice says. "I'll get you some help."

Danny smiles. "I knew you'd come." He whispered, his eyes opening and closing as he wavers in and out of consciousness. "Where's Tucker?"

"Danny stay with me!" Valerie cried, as she pulled off his shirt to examine his wound. Its two big punctures with some green liquid oozing from it. "You're going to be okay."

"Sam I'm sorry." Danny said. "If I could change things I would." He whispered, "I should…have…listened to…you." and with those final words his world goes dark.

* * *

 **(Deep in his Subconscious...)**

"Danny? Danny are you with us man?"

Danny opened his eyes slowly, and he was met with quite the surprise. "Trucker?" he asked, as his old friend stood before him, but he was different, he was… "You're a ghost!"

"Of course I am." Tucker said. "This is the Ghost Zone and I am dead after all."

Danny looked around and realized that they were in the Ghost Zone. "Wait, am I? Did I die?" he asked.

"You sure did you idiot!" Sam said appearing beside him.

"Sam!" he embraced her. "I am so sorry I should have listened to you."

"Okay, okay." Sam laughed at his over excitement.

"No it's not okay." Danny cried.

"It is now." Jazz said, appearing out of nowhere. "Don't you see Danny we're together again?"

"Oh come here my boy." Maddie exclaimed as she and Jack embraced him.

"I thought I'd have to wait for you to die of old age before I could hug you again son." Jack said.

Jazz, Tucker, and Sam joined in.

"We love you Danny." They all said.

"So you're not mad at me?" Danny asked.

"Danny we're not alive anymore." Jazz said. "So that life doesn't matter anymore."

"Yeah we've got an eternity together why waste it being bitter." Maddie asked. "Besides there are somethings you just can't change."

"Now do us all a favor and wake up Danny." Sam said, but her voice wasn't her own anymore. "Danny please wake up…."

* * *

 **(Back in reality…)**

Consciousness…

It came slowly with little to no comfort what so ever.

"I think he's coming out of it!" A voice exclaimed.

"Danny? Danny can you hear me?" Another voice asked.

Danny moaned and opened his eyes slowly. He imminently takes in the hospital room around him. "I'm alive?" he whispered, though he does not sound relieved.

"Of course you're alive my boy." A voice said.

Danny looked up to see the last person he wanted to see at the moment. "Vlad?"

Vlad Masters step closer to his bed side, and Danny noticed that his arch rival was not grinning wickedly like he usually did. "You gave a quite a scare Daniel, luckily the doctor's here knew of this ghost spider venom that was coursing through your veins."

"Danny you're okay." Valerie said appearing beside Vlad.

"What happened?" Danny asked.

"I called Mr. Masters." Valerie explained. "He's the one that gave me my ghost hunting supplies, and I thought that maybe he had seen this kind of spider bite before."

"Yes and luckily I have." Vlad said. "Anyway Valerie could you be a dear and let Danny and I talk."

Valerie nodded, and left the room.

"Okay what's your game now old man?!" Danny snapped. "And why would you give Valerie ghost fighting weapons!"

"OH like any of that matters now!" Vlad snapped, and then a little more gently he asked. "Is it true? Are they really gone?"

Tears welled up in Danny's eyes. "Don't pretend you care." He snapped. "Don't pretend to care just so you can get to me! I don't need you!"

"Daniel I know we've had our differences but I want to help you. I really loved your mother, and in her honor I want to help make sure her only son is cared for."

"My Aunt is doing that!" Danny snapped. "We don't need you!"

"So that's it?" Vlad asked. "You're just going to pick up the pieces and move on?"

"Yes!" Danny yelled.

"Well it's not working." Vlad said.

"How would you know!?" Danny snapped.

"Daniel that spider was a low leveled ghost, it was hardly more powerful then Ember and it almost killed you." Vlad explained.

"I wish it had." Danny admitted. "Then I could finally be with them and away from you."

"Daniel I can help you." Vlad insisted. "Staying here is only going to make you feel worse. Alicia should know that. Come to Wisconsin with me, and let me help you."

"I don't need your help!" Danny yelled.

"Fine." Vlad held up his hands in defeat. "But if you change your mind, and want to get away from all this, you know my number." And with those final words Vlad walked out of the hospital room.

"So I guess you know him hu?" Valerie asked, sneaking back into the room.

"He and my dad were old collage friends, and well he kind of hates my dad for stealing my mom from him." Danny explained.

"Oh wow yikes." Valerie forced a laughed.

"You saw didn't you?" Danny asked.

Valerie sighed, but nodded. "So this whole time you were the Ghost kid."

Danny nodded.

"But how?" Valerie asked.

"My parents are ghost hunters, and there was an accident with the ghost portal in their lab." Danny explained to her. "It fussed my molecules with ghost DNA, and I became part ghost."

"So you're really trying to fight those ghost?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah I thought I'd use my powers to help people." Danny said. "I never meant for you to get involved."

Valerie smiled. "I guess I never really gave you a chance." She said.

"So are we still cool?" Danny asked.

Valerie nodded. "Yeah we're cool. Heck maybe we can star fighting ghost together." She said.

Danny smiled, but frowned as he thought back to his dream.

"What's wrong?" Valerie asked.

"Do you think they're Ghost now?" Danny asked.

"I don't know." Valerie said. "Maybe."

"Do you think they're happy?" Danny asked. "Wherever they are?"

"I'm sure they are." Valerie said, even though she wasn't sure at all.

"Val?" Danny asked.

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I can do this anymore." He said. "I don't think I can live here, or fight ghost, or do anything."

Valerie frowned. "You just need more time."

"But what if it never gets better?" Danny asked.

"It will" Valerie assured him. "But you have to try, you have to really try. Promise me you'll try."

"I promise." Danny said, yawning loudly.

"Oh yeah the doc gave you something to make you drowsy." She told him.

"I don't want to sleep." Danny said. "I don't want to see them again, it's too painful."

"It's okay." Valerie assured him, as he began to drift off to sleep. "You'll be okay."

But those words were lies, Danny was sure of it now. All his efforts to move on had been in vain, he had tried it their way with no success.

" _If you change your mind, and want to get away from all this, you know my number"_

Vlad's words echoed in his mind, as fell into a deeper sleep.

' _Maybe he's right, maybe the only way for me to heal is to get away from it all.'_

Yes, maybe then the pain would finally go away.


	7. I Tried, But

**Chapter 7: I tried, but…**

 **(Three weeks after the accident...)**

It had been three weeks in counting, and Danny felt like he was only half of what he once was.

"Watch it loser!" Dash yelled, pushing Danny out of his way.

Danny groaned slightly as he hit the ground.

"What are you doing here anyways Fen-turd? Can't you see no one wants you here?" Dash shouted, as he continued to go on his way.

Danny forced himself to his feet, glaring at his words, this month alone was without a doubt the worse month of his life.

After Danny was cleared from his spider bite, the Hospital staff allowed him to return to school where Danny tried to keep his promise to Valerie. However the more he tried the harder it seemed to keep said promise.

It was like life just decided to give him a big old helping of crap, His teachers hated him, his fellow peers hated him, heck if he was really being honest then he would admit that he hated himself too!

Danny dragged his feet to his next class, his mood was dark and getting darker by the minute.

Why couldn't life just give him a break?

Hadn't he suffered enough?

Apparently not!

Danny stopped in front of his fourth period class, completely defeated. _'What am I even doing here?'_ He asked himself. _'No one wants me here, no one but Valerie.'_ He realized _. 'And she deserves a better friend, and a better ghost fighting partner._ ' Danny shook his head over the past three week several ghost had attacked the city, and several times he and Valerie tried to stop them. Or more accurately Valerie tried to stop them and Danny just kept getting in the way.

For example just after he was release from the hospital for the second time, another ghost bug had emerged. This one was a large scorpion with a stinger as long as a 50 ft. garden hoes, and with a fierce temper to match.

Danny and Valerie decided to try to take down the monster together.

It started off okay, Danny, and Valerie managed to isolate the beast in the park away from any civilians.

But that's when everything went wrong.

"Okay Danny the first thing we need to do is neutralize his claws." Valerie said as they both dodged the snapping claws of the enemy.

Danny nodded, and went for the left claw, as Valerie went for the right. "Okay I can do this." Danny said to himself. "This is what I do, heroes save the day." He whispered using the Spector Defector's to cuff the left claw closed.

' _Hero's don't Cheat, Villains do.'_

Danny winced as his sister's words tore through him like a hurricane.

Suddenly the scorpion screeches and uses his cuffed claw to club Danny in the head.

Danny yelps, as he receives the full blow, and goes crashing down into the sand. His fall created a crater in its wake. Danny rubbed his head, moaning.

Valerie swerve to avoid the same fate, and used her ecto-whip to tie the other claw closed. "It's okay Danny I got this one!" She called, before pulling out her ecto-sword which she used to cut of the creatures tale, disarming it of its poisonous stinger. She then pulled out the Fenton thermos which sucked the bug up in seconds. "Wahoo." She breathed as sigh of relief as she landed beside Danny. "Man that was intense, Are you ok?" She asked offering Danny her hand.

"Yeah I guess." Danny said taking her hand. "Sorry about that, I don't know what got into me."

"It's okay." Valerie assured him. "I'm not use to fighting with anyone, and you're not use to fighting with someone besides Tucker, and Sam." She reasoned. "We'll find a good tempo, it's just gonna take some time."

However, if she was right, then Danny had yet to see evidence of it. Five more ghost bugs appeared throughout the weeks after that. From, beetles, to roaches, to centipedes, to giant termites, and strangely enough even an army of ant descended upon the city.

And each and every time something around him would trigger a memory of someone he had lost, and then bam! The Enemy would hit him while he was distracted, and Valerie would have to come to his rescue.

'Man I wonder where all these bugs are coming from." Valerie had said as she helped Danny to his feet, AGAIN!

"Sorry I keep messing up." He had mumbled.

"It's okay." Valerie assured him. "We'll find our rhythm, I just know it."

Danny shook the memory away as the late bell sounded around him. "Great now I'm-"

"Tardy again Mr. Fenton?" Mrs. Wade asked, standing in front of the classroom door.

"Sorry." Danny mumbled, though he really wasn't sure if he actually cared any more.

Mrs. Wade shook her head. "Honestly Mr. Fenton, if you're not going to show up at my class on time then why do you bother showing up at all?"

Danny just pushes past her, and takes his seat in the back of the class.

Mrs. Wade sighs, and closes the door, and addresses the class. "Alright class, now that everyone is here let's begin with today's lesson about Eger Allen Poe."

"This is all your fault Fen-turd." Dash whispered, turning around in his seat to look at him. "Even Mr. Lancer's poetry was more bearable then this."

Danny gritted his teeth, and tried to focus on the teacher, as she began to write some lines of literature on the board.

"I mean honestly why couldn't you just do us all a favor and blown up the school." Dash went on.

"Yeah." Kwan agreed, "At least then you would have gotten rid of a place we didn't like."

"THAT'S IT!" Danny screamed, standing up.

"Mr. Fenton!" Mrs. Wade begun.

"No!" Danny yelled. "Don't you Mr. Fenton me! I know you can hear what they are saying to me! What they've been saying since I got back!"

Mrs. Wade grimaced at his words, confirming his suspicions.

"I didn't kill them!" Danny screamed. "The restaurant exploded! I made a mistake, and it is hard enough living with it without all of you dissing on me!" He continued to yell. "So shut up! Don't talk to me, don't look at me! Just leave me alone!"

The classroom goes silent around him, as tears stream down his face.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." He mumbled, his legs feeling weak at the knees.

Mrs. Wade sighed, looking almost sorry for him. "Mr. Fenton maybe you should go see the new school counselor, he's more experienced with these kind of things."

Danny goes to tell her off, but is interrupted by his ghost sense. _'Oh great more humiliation.'_ He thought.

Suddenly Valerie comes bursting into the room, and grabs Danny by the arm. "Sorry Mrs. Wade, but Danny and I have an extra credit project to finish, so we've got to go!" She explained, pulling Danny out of the room.

Mrs. Wade just blinks, stunned for a moment; before she shakes it off and continues her lesson.

"Val wait!" Danny exclaimed, but Valerie continued to pull him along until they were outside. "Val what's going on?"

"That is!" Valerie pointed to the sky.

Danny looks up and gasped as he see Skulker straddled on top of a flying ecto-grasshopper. "Skulker!" He yelled, changing into his ghost form.

"Trod!" Skulker exclaimed. "How do you like my new Pet?" he asked.

"Seriously? You're the one who's been sending these bugs after me?" Danny snapped. "Why?"

"Well I've been making some updates to my Armor, and I needed to see you in battle so I could put up proper counter measures. Only to come to find that you've seemed to have lost your fighting spirit!"

"I haven't lost anything!" Danny yelled, however Skulker soon proves otherwise.

"Yeah you tell him." Valerie said, as she appeared beside him, all suit up. "We can take him Danny."

"Wait a minute." Skulker looks confused. "Since when did you and the ghost hunting girl team up?"

Danny winced at his words.

"Trod, where are your annoying sidekicks?" He asked. "You know the nerd with the device, and that goth girl."

Danny felt his chest seize up. "I…Their…their not here." He stammered.

"Aw did the ghost boy and his little human friends get in a fight?" Skulker teased. "Well good if you ask me they were only holding you back! A real warrior needs no one, especial some meat suits getting in the way. "

"Shut up!" Danny yelled, throwing his ecto-blast at the enemy. "No one gets to talk about them like that! No One!"

The blast sends Skulker flying off his new pet, and on to the ground with a large bang.

"There's that fighting spirit!" Skulker said with a smile, and leaps towards his foe!

Valerie dives out of the way, and pulls out her blaster, aiming for the enemy, but she can't lock on due to his fast movement.

Danny dodges the hunter's first blow with ease only for the hunter to pull out a new toy. Danny screamed as a green ecto rope wraps around him, and electrocutes him.

"Danny!" Valerie aims, and fires!

Skulker laughs, and turns intangible, allowing the blast to go right through him, he then fires a cannon of his own, throwing a net on her in seconds.

Valerie screamed as the net zapped her, she crumbles, defeated and close to passing out.

"Val!" Danny yelled, he tries to escape and help her, but his efforts are in vain.

"Oh come on your not even trying." Skulker says displeased. "I have several traps more advanced than this one and you've escaped them with ease!"

Danny screamed louder, and tried to summon his strength. _'I have to save her!'_ he told himself.

' _Why so you can get her killed too?'_ Sam's voice asked.

Danny looked to his right, and saw her standing there, disappointment clouded her face. He knew it was an hallucination, but he couldn't help but wince.

' _Yeah like you did to us?'_ Tucker agreed as he appeared to his left.

"It wasn't my fault!" Danny yelled. "It wasn't me!"

' _Oh so we cheated on that test!'_ Sam's voice scoffed.

' _Classic Danny, never taking responsibility for his actions.'_ Tucker said with a roll of his eyes.

"Sam, Tucker!" Danny yelled. "Please!"

"What can we do?" Tucker asked. "We're dead!"

"And it's all your fault." Sam snapped. "Man sometimes I wish I had never met you!"

"Stop Please!" Danny screamed.

"What a shame!" Skulker snapped the ecto-rope off of his enemy, a look of disappointment on his face. "You really are broken." He watched as Danny fell to the ground below. "Enjoy the rest of your pathetic life Trod."

Danny winced through his blurry vision somewhat confused, as he returns to his human form. "You're not going to skin me or something."

"As if!" Skulker looked disgusted with the sight of him, and he was. "What kind of hunter takes pride in hunting broken prey, you're not sporting anymore, only a weakling would hang your pelt on their wall with pride." He said before flying off, and out of sight.

Danny watched him go, completely defeated.

"Danny?" Valerie forced herself to her feet, though every fiber of her being begged her to stay down. "Are you okay?"

Okay?

How could he be okay?

His life was already over, and now he was so pathetic that not even Skulker wanted anything to do with him!

How was anything okay?

Valerie finally gets herself free, and limps as fast as she can to Danny's aid. "it's okay, we'll get him next time." She assured him.

"No you will." Danny said.

"You'll get there I promise." Valerie said, not quite getting what he was saying.

"No I won't!" Danny snapped, and with a sigh he says. "Look Val I really appreciate all you've done for me, but I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Danny you just need more time." Valerie assured him.

"No, you just don't get it!" Danny yelled, "Everyone treats me like a killer, and I'm so pathetic and sorry that I can't even catch Skulker!"

"Danny-" Valerie placed her shoulder on his hand. "If you're really having a hard time ghost fighting I can go solo until you think you're ready."

"It's not just the ghost fighting." Danny admitted. "It's all of it, everything I see, and, hear, it makes me see them. Valerie I'm hallucinating, I'm seeing them everywhere!"

"Oh Danny." Valerie whispered.

"I just need to get away for a while." Danny whispered.

Valerie sighed.

"I'm sorry I tried but-" Danny began, but Valerie cut him off.

"No it's okay I get it, you need to rediscover yourself, away from all this." Valerie cut in.

"So you're not mad at me for breaking my promise?" Danny asked.

"You promised to try." Valerie said. "And you did, you really did, my way just didn't work for you."

Danny sighed.

"Where will you go now?" Valerie asked. "To Texas with your Aunt?"

Danny shook his head, "No but don't worry I have someone in mind."

Valerie nodded. "Okay, just be careful, and promise me something."

"Anything." Danny said.

"Promise me you won't forget who you are." Valerie said hopefully. "Promise me you'll always be the Danny I know."

Danny smiled. "I promise."

Valerie sighed. "I should probably go after that Skulker guy." She whispered.

Danny nodded. "Go, the city needs you."

Valerie smiled. "Don't you dare leave without saying goodbye." She warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Danny forced a laugh.

Valerie smiled and jumped back onto her board, riding off in the direction Skulker had fled.

Danny sighed, pulled out his cellphone, and dialed a number without hesitation.

There was three rings and then.

"Hello?"

Danny sighed. "Hey Vlad, it's me." Danny said tears in his eyes.

"Daniel is something wrong?' Vlad asked.

"Did you mean it when you said you'd take me away from here?" Danny asked.

There is a pause, and then finally Vlad says. "I'm on my way."

"I'm not going to be your evil heir!" Danny snapped, "I'm done with the ghost stuff."

"Then what would you have me do?" Vlad asked.

"I just want the pain to go away." Danny cried. "Please just make it go away."

Vlad sighed. "I'll see what I can do…"


	8. I Just Want the Pain to Go Way

**Author's Notes:** Ok everyone here we are again! Sorry these last two updates took so long I've been feeling under the weather lately, but I think I'm finally over the worse of it. So with that said please enjoy, and tell me what you think!

 **Warning:** Character Death…AGAIN!

Yours truly, RoxieDivine

* * *

 **Chapter 8: I Just Want the Pain to Go Way**

 **(Three Days Later)**

 **[Location: AMITY VIL: Vlad's Manor]**

Danny sighed as he stepped off the bus and stood on the steps of Vlad Masters' Manor. His Aunt Alicia was not exactly happy about his decision to move away from her, and everyone else he ever knew to go live with some lonely weirdo bachelor out of state, but she respected the decision all the same.

"Just promise me you'll call me every once and a while." She said, before he boarded the bus earlier that day.

"I will." Danny promised.

"Don't forget to call me too." Valerie had said.

Danny pulled away from his Aunt, and threw his arms around her. "Thanks for everything." He whispered. "I don't think I would have last this long without you."

Valerie hugged him back. "I'll see you soon." She whispered.

"Don't forget about me. Ok?" He whispered into her ear.

Valerie smiled back and nodded. "As long as you promise to never change on me."

He gave her a weak smile and then climbed onto the bus that would take him to the airport and then to Wisconsin.

Danny shook the memories from his head, as the bus driver handed him his bags. "Here you go kid."

Danny took his bags, and flinched as one split open, and its contents fell on the ground beside him. Danny stuffed the items into his second bag, but froze to stare at the last item, with a heavy weight of guilt in his eyes. It was a picture of him, and his family, along with Sam and Tucker.

"Ah, Daniel my boy," Vlad exclaimed as the Manor's doors opened, revealing him in his usual black suit and tie. He ran up to his side and patted his shoulder. "Come inside."

Danny sighed and stopped to take one last look at the picture.

Vlad follows his gaze and his smile evaporates. "I know its hard now but we'll get through this." He said, guiding Danny into the manor as he spoke.

Danny followed Vlad into the Manor, secretly grateful that the older halfa had not told him that everything would be okay. He was secretly tired of hearing those words, partially because they had yet to come true, and Danny was beginning to think they never would. He sighed once more as they continued to walk through the manor, however he barely noticed anything on his way in. After all, nothing mattered anymore.

It was funny really, only a month ago he would have shuddered at the fact that he was willingly going to stay here with Vlad, the biggest fruitloop the world had ever seen.

Danny sighed and slumped to the floor in the front hall, he instantly noticed a large painting of Vlad looking mighty and victorious as it stared down on him. Danny shook his head in disbelief, here he was in this house; a house for the rich, and the successful. Wasn't that what he had wanted in the start of this whole mess?

A successful future?

That's was what they all wanted out of him right?

Danny growled and banged his fist on the ground. _'That stupid test, that stupid,stupid, stupid test.'_

Danny couldn't even remember why it was so important in the first place.

"Daniel." Vlad appeared to his right. "Why don't you follow me to your room," he suggested with a pity filled smile.

"My room, right – whatever…" Danny mumbled getting to his feet.

"Come now, it's time to move on the future is waiting," Vlad said, trying to be encouraging.

"What future?" Danny asked. "Don't you see? Without them, my life is over!"

Vlad frowned, he didn't seem to be very good at this encouraging thing.

"I just wish I didn't feel this way anymore, I wish I didn't care…" Danny moaned.

Vlad sighed and opened a door to his room. "Ah, here we are."

Danny looked over his shoulder at the every expensively furbished room, and sighed. "Tucker would have loved this place."

Vlad bit his lip, and watched him drag his feet pass him, and into the room, where he dropped his bags and slumped onto his new bed. "Right, I'll call you when it's Dinner time." He assured him, before retreating, and leaving him alone in his room.

A clock ticked, counting off seconds that seemed more like hours to Danny. The slow, endless ticking swayed him into yet another nightmare filled sleep…and as he slid into this world of sleep his last thought was one of pain, and the wish that he couldn't feel it anymore.

About an hour later, Vlad reappeared to invite him for Dinner, only to see that the boy was fast asleep.

"Oh Daniel, I really wish there was a way I could pull all the pain out of you." He whispered. "And perhaps I can." He realized. "And I can do it in a way that will benefit us both!" And with those final words, he left the boy tossing in his sheets, at the mercy of his inner demons.

* * *

 **(The Next Morning…)**

Danny woke the next morning to a noise that made him think of a stampede of noisy elephants. Danny frowned and then slumped against the wall again, _'Who care?'_ He thought.

He wasn't sure where this stronger wave a depression had come from. Perhaps it had always been there and Valerie had just been distracting him from it. For a moment he regrets leaving her, but changes his mind instantly. _'You were ruining her life!'_ he told himself. _'Now she won't be a total outcast.'_

He pulled out the picture of his family and friends again, and found the tears falling almost instantly. "What was I thinking?" He asked himself. "I had it all!" He cried. "I had my family, my friends, and my health. I already had the perfect future, and I ruined it!" Danny threw the picture across the room, and watched it shatter as if in a daze.

"No!" He suddenly snapped out of it, and ran over to pick it up. "Owe!" Danny cried as he bend over on hands and knees, only to have a piece of glass cut him slightly. Danny eyed the glass knowingly. "If I slit my throat now it would all be over." He whispered. Danny stopped to ponder that, suicide; would it really be so bad? Sure Death wasn't the end, but maybe it could be the end of his pain, the end of his suffering.

" _Promise me you want shut down, or go suicidal. Promise me you'll hold your head up high, and try to move on."_

Danny winced at his Aunt's words and abandoned the glass, reaching for his book bag, and leaving the room.

"Daniel you're up early." Vlad noticed out loud as the boy walked by him. The billionaire was busy tinkering with some kind of giant mechanic gloves with claws on the end of them.

"I thought I'd check out my new school." He muttered. "You know as a distraction."

"That's a perfect idea!" Vlad said as he got up, throwing on his coat.

"I'd rather go alone." Danny said, stopping at the door.

"Oh of course." Vlad said, dropping his coat. "Well, have a good day."

Danny nodded, and walked out of the Manor closing the door behind him.

Vlad sighed, and sat back down, continuing his work. "Don't worry my boy, once I'm done with this invention I will make the pain go away I promise. Then well both get what we want." He stopped to look at a picture of Maddie on his desk. "I'm truly sorry Maddie, but I still need an apprentice, and Daniel needs to stop feeling the pain. So you see this is the only way. "

* * *

 **(Following Danny…)**

Danny knew he could ride the bus to his new school, but he saw it on the way to Vlad's yesterday so he knew where to go, and besides he really didn't want to deal with anyone at the moment. To be honest he hadn't wanted to go to school at all, but he promised everyone that he would keep trying in their absence. _'But I'm tired of trying!'_ He argued with himself. _'I just want the feeling to go away!'_

Danny reached the school grounds in no time at all, and found the front office with ease.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The sectary asked.

"Uh yes, I'm new here, my name is Daniel…Daniel Masters." Danny didn't like using Vlad's last name, but he didn't want his "Murder reputation" to follow him here. Danny Fenton was a cheater that got his friends, family, and a teacher killed, and as much as he hated it, he couldn't take being ridiculed like that again. So he and Vlad both agreed that Danny would use his last name.

"Ah, yes, Daniel Masters, I have you schedule right here." She handed him his schedule. "And your locker number, and combination is written on the top in pen there."

Danny looked at the top of the page to see it was true.

"Alright do you need any help?" The secretary asked.

Danny was about to answer no when someone cut in.

"I'll help him." A girl with long black hair and fair skin said, appearing beside him.

"Why thank you Sarah." The Secretary said, and ushered them on to class.

"So I'm Sarah." Sarah said as she led Danny down the hall to his locker.

"I'm Danny." Danny told her.

"Yeah I heard." Sarah said with a laugh.

Danny smiled, _'She's really pretty.'_ He noticed, and it was true, with her long dark hair and fair tan skin Sarah could give Paulina a run in for her money when it came to beauty. _'So why is she talking to me?'_ He wondered. _'Pretty girls have never noticed me before.'_

"So is it true?" Sarah asked breaking him from his thoughts.

"Is what true?" Danny asked, looking worried for a moment. _'Had she heard? Had word really traveled this far out of the city?'_

"Are you really related to Vlad Masters?" Sarah asked.

Danny stopped suddenly getting in an instant why she was so interested. She thought he was Vlad's Son, and that he was rich! Danny groaned and stomped ahead of her, until he reached his locker. Before the accident Danny would pray for this kind of thing to happen, but now it only made him sick to his stomach.

"Danny wait!" Sarah called after him.

But Danny didn't stop moving, no instead he started running, he ran passed his locker, through the hall, out the door, and into the awaiting sun.

Tears spilled from his eyes, as he pulled out his phone, and flipped through the numbers only to stop at Sam's. He dialed it in seconds and after several rings he heard a voice he never thought he'd hear again.

"Hi it's Sam, you know what to do."

Danny felt his heart swell at the sound of the messenger tone beeping from his phone. "Hey Sam I know you won't pick up but I just wanted to hear your voice again, it's been so long….I'm so sorry Sam I'm so, so sorry." He wiped his runny nose sniffling a bit. "I miss you." He said, and hung up the phone.

Only to dial another number moments later.

"Hey it's Me Tucker, sorry I can't get to the phone right now, cause I'm either tinkering with my new PDA. Or hanging out at the Nasty Burger with my two buds Danny and Sam. But please leave your name and number and I'll call you back as soon as I can."

"Hey Tuck it's me Danny." Danny said. "….I miss you man…I really…really do." Danny hung up the phone again. He felt like he had an ice pick in his chest.

He dialed another number, this one for FentonWorks.

"Hi we're not home right now." Danny smiled as his mother's voice sounded off. "And if we are I'm too busy cleaning up Jack's latest explosion to answer the phone."

Danny laugh as he heard his father muttering in the back ground.

"You blow up the lab one time, and she never lets you hear the end of it!"

"Anyway." His mom's voice went on. "Jazz if this is you sweetie I finish looking over your thesis statement and I was so proud of you when I was done. Not a single miss spelled word. Oh and Danny if this is you I want you to know you left your lunch money on the table again so I gave it to Jazz to pay the lunch lady with."

Danny smiled. That happened almost two months ago, his mom was always bad at not updating the answering Machine.

"Any way you father and I love you both." Maddie went on.

"Very Much!" Jack exclaimed from the background.

"And if this is anyone else you know what to do."

Danny paused at the sound of the beep before answering. "Hey mom, dad just wanted to hear your voices again, I…I know if you were still alive you probably would be very disappointed in me. I want to say I'm sorry, but…but sorry can't fix this. I can't fix this! Mom I feel so alone and I wish you were here to make it all go away. You always knew how to do that. Dad I'm sorry I wasn't a better son, I'm sorry I wasn't the genius you wanted me to be."

Danny wiped his eyes again, and hung up the phone before dialing one final number.

"Hi, this is Jazz's answering machine. She's not here, but I'm open to suggestions."

Danny smiled. "Hey Jazz it's me Danny, I just wanted to…I just wanted to say...you were right, I'm a cheater, and a villain, and I got what I deserved. I'm sorry, and I would take it all back if I could but-" Danny hung up the phone his voice too choked up to continue.

He was so sick of feeling this way…No! He was sick of feeling at all!

He wanted the pain to just go away.

His phone ringed, and Danny answered it.

"Daniel?" A voice asked.

"Vlad?" Danny asked.

"Oh Daniel, I just got a call from your homeroom teacher saying you missed roll call. Is everything alright?" Vlad asked.

"No it's not!" Danny snapped. "And it never will be again!"

Vlad sighed, "Actually I think I can help."

"Everyone says that!" Danny snapped, "But nothing helps."

"No Daniel I mean it." Vlad said. "I've been working on something and I think I've done it. I think I've found a way to pull all those painful emotions out of you."

"Really?" Danny asked stunned. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes." Vlad told him. "If you come home right now I can show you."

"Ok." Danny answered. "I'm on my way." He hung up the phone and got to his feet. A strange feeling had just washed over him. Danny felt almost hopeful, as if a strange feeling of peace had filled him.

This was it he was finally going to get rid of all the pain!

Vlad sighed as he hung up the phone, he would like to think that he wouldn't regret this, but he knew he might; even if it was just a little bit. Maddie would never forgive him for taking advantage of the boy in such a weak state, but he had made up his mind.

He was going through with this, and nothing could stop him now.

* * *

 **(Back with Danny…)**

Danny raced home, eager to see how Vlad planned to do what no one else seemed to be able to do.

Would he really forget all the pain?

All the regret?

Was that even possible?

Danny raced up the Manor steps and burst through the door, and into the living area where Vlad had been waiting.

"So I guess by your eagerness that you wish to give this a try?" Vlad asked.

"How?" Danny asked. "How are you going to take it away?"

"With these." Vlad answered slipping on some white and green colored Ghost Gauntlets with claws at the tip of the fingers. "These will tear those human emotions right out of you. No emotions, no feelings you'll be free Daniel."

Danny knew it wasn't that simple, he knew Vlad must have an alternative reason for helping him, but at the moment he didn't care, He just wanted the pain to go away. "Okay, let's do it." He said.

Vlad led him down to his Lab where he strapped him in on an Autopsy table.

Danny took a deep breath. "You promise this will work?" He asked.

"Oh trust me it will work." Vlad assured him before he activated the Ghost Gauntlets, once he did they glowed with purple energy. He then ripped into the boy, and pulled something out.

It was his ghost half!

The Autopsy table freed the now human Danny from its hold, and Danny's human self-watched in horror as his ghost half opened his eyes.

Ghostly Danny opened his eyes, to find himself in a since of peace. No emotions, no feelings, it almost surprised him that Vlad had kept his word. Or it would have if he had any feelings. Wait did he have feelings? Ghostly Danny looked down to see the claws of the gauntlets still buried deep inside of him. _'Let's test this theory shall we?'_ Grinning Ghostly Danny slammed his fist into Vlad's face, causing him to slide out of the gloves and slam into the wall across the lab. _'Wow that felt…good!'_ He realized, as the gloves fell from his ghostly form and onto the floor.

 _'Oh so there was still some feelings apparently, just none of those useless human ones.'_ he thought.

Vlad's eyes widen, as he took in the sight of the ghostly boy. This was not how he had planned this to go, he was supposed to rip out all emotion from the boy, not separate the human half from the ghost half. "Where did I go wrong?" He whispered.

Ghostly Danny grinned, he was free; he was totally free! Free of emotions, Free of morals, and most of all free of his humanity and the emotions that went with it. However something was missing, the ghost felt weak, and exposed without his human side to hide it from the outside world, he needed a way to make up for that. He needed a way to become instantly stronger so that no one could hurt him ever again.

His eyes fell Vlad, and then it hit him Vlad was part ghost wasn't he. Yes, so in theory He could rip out Vlad's ghostly self, and merge with it allowing him to have all the power, and experience that he would ever need. Pulling on the dropped gloves Danny advanced on the still recovering Vlad, and rips his ghost half out with ease. He then throws the gloves aside and forces himself inside the body of Vlad's ghost half; merging them as one.

For a moment the two ghost fight each other for dominance, as Danny's hair goes fiery white and his skin turns a ghostly blue.

"Don't let my evil half over-whelm you!" Vlad shouted from where he had been thrown.

Over-whelm? Danny almost laughed, Vlad's evil half could not over whelm the evil that already rested within his own soul. All the self-loathing, and self-doubt he felt had evolved into an evil so mightily that is made Vlad's own evil desires look like child's play. There was no way Vlad's ghost half could ever hope to over whelm him, no Ghostly Danny took over with ease, taking all the power as his own, as Vlad's ghost half faded into nothingness.

"Daniel what have you done?" Vlad exclaimed.

Ghostly Danny smiled again, "Done? Why I've done what you promised me you Fool!" Ghostly Danny cackled. "Now Nothing can hurt me ever again!" he turned then to see his human half still shaking beside the Autopsy table. "As for you, I know exactly what to do with a weakling like you!" He said and leaped for his human self.

Vlad watched in horror as the ghostly Danny tore his human self apart one claw mark at a time until he was nothing left but a pile of misshapen, and dead flesh. He winced at the screams the human Daniel let out, they were so horrible that Vlad wanted to tear his own ears off.

With one final swipe at the torn carcass the ghostly Danny laughed and threw an ecto-blast at Vlad before speeding off into the night.

Vlad has just enough time to activate the force field button beside him, and sighs in relief as he is protected from the resulting explosion!

Ghostly Danny laughed evil as he raced away into the night, he was free, and now he was powerful, and one day he would become unstoppable. And then the whole world would pay for their part in his suffering. Everyone would feel the pain that he had felt.

They wanted a murderer, well he'd show them what a real Murderer looked like!


	9. The Aftermath

**Author's Notes:** Okay guys just one more chapter after this and we stat the whole messing with time thing. I'm telling you this because when Clockwork rewinds time a lot of repeats will happen. For example, after Clockwork rewinds time we'll be back at the School Auditorium where Lancer is discussing the CAT for the first time.

Now since he is manipulating Time there will be some changes, but a lot of it will be the same too! I promise to word things differently so it will be more interesting, and not a total repeat. With all of that said please enjoy this chapter, and let me know what you think.

Yours truly, RoxieDivine

* * *

 **Chapter 9: The Aftermath**

 **(Ten Year Time Skip: Moments after Dark Dan destroys FentonWorks)**

 **(Back with Valerie…)**

She was running for her life again, but that of course was nothing new, ever since that day she had been running. And to this very day she still blamed herself for it all! Oh what a fool she had been to allow this to happen.

' _I should have never let him on that bus.'_ Valerie Realized, as she allowed the memory to pass through her mind.

"Don't forget to call me too." Valerie had said.

Danny pulled away from his Aunt, and threw his arms around her. "Thanks for everything." He whispered. "I don't think I would have last this long without you."

Valerie hugged him back. "I'll see you soon." She whispered back.

"Don't forget about me. Ok?" He said into her ear.

Valerie smiled and nodded. "As long as you promise to never change on me."

He gave Valerie a weak smile and then climbed onto the bus that would take him to the airport and then to Wisconsin.

Valerie shook the memory away knowingly, she was so sure he'd call imminently the next day, or at least text her. However Danny never called her, or answered his phone when she called him.

Never did her heart hurt so much then when it did in his absence. It hurt so much that she found herself lying awake late in the night praying to see him again. Hoping with all her being that he was okay. She kept praying for his return, for 5 years she waited by the phone in vain only to get her wish in the worst of ways.

She remembered the day of his return. She and her father were sitting at home watching the news. All the while she was thinking, thinking of him. When a breaking news flyer flashed on the screen.

"We just got an urgent report that a new never before seen ghost has started a rampage down town destroying everything in sight."

She remembered the screen changing to a live feed of the down town area, and what she saw made her heart shatter into pieces.

There floating in the sky was a blue skin ghost with blood red eyes, and a goatee, however it wasn't his appearance that triggered her, No what triggered her was the logo that was resting on his chest.

The DP logo of Danny Phantom!

She remembered being stunned, she remembered being confused, but more importantly she remembered the longing for answers. A longing so deep that she raced out of her home in her battle suit to confront him.

And to this very day she remembered the words that were exchanged between them.

"Danny stop this now!" She had demanded, floating in front of him on her jet-scooter blocking his path.

"Valerie, my you've changed." Danny had said. "It's good to see you."

Valerie flinched at his words, and for good reason that voice did not sound like the kind words of an old friend. No it had the tone a spider may have use to tick its prey into a sick since of false safety.

"What happened to you?" Valerie asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"I've been set free." Danny told her. "No more pain, no more guilt, only power!" he exclaimed before throwing a ball of ecto-plasma at a book store to his right, destroying the building and killing the frightened Civilians inside.

Valerie was stunned. "Danny how could you?"

"They're just humans Valerie." He said. "Weak, pathetic, and full of useless emotions. They don't deserve to live."

"But you're part human!" Valerie argued.

"Not anymore." Danny explained. "I sacrificed my human half in order to get rid of the pain. You should have seen him cower in fear as I tore him limp from limb. And hear his weak screams for mercy."

"What are you talking about?" Valerie shouted.

"My human half was ripped out of me." Danny went on. "We became two separate beings, which allowed me to wipe him out of existence. And let me tell you boy it felt good to finally be free of that weakling."

"So you're-"

"A mindless, heartless, emotionless apparition of evil?" Danny asked, finishing her question for her as he took down yet another building with a single blast.

"Stop that!" Valerie yelled, as she drew her weapon, aiming it a Danny.

Danny looks somewhat hurt by her reaction. "Val it's me, we're friends remember. You wouldn't point a weapon at an old friend now would you?"

"You're not Danny!" Valerie screamed. "Not anymore, you are a mindless, heartless ghost, and you are going down!" She fired, only to gasp as the blast went right throw him.

"Big mistake Valerie." Danny said multiplying into several Danny's around her. "And here I was going to let you live."

Getting out of that situation alive was almost impossible for her.

Almost!

Valerie forced herself to run faster, she had to keep running she promised her father that she would avenge him, and she couldn't do that if she was dead too. Dead, that horrible thing took her father out of this world, and away from her forever. And she would make him pay!

She would make that monster pay!

Dark Dan would pay for what he had done to this world, to this town, to her, her father, and most importantly he would pay for what he did to his human self.

" _You should have seen him cower in fear as I tore him limp from limb. And hear his weak screams for mercy."_

" _Boy it felt good to finally be free of that weakling."_

' _There is no way that he is really Danny.'_ She must have thought those words a thousand times over the past five years. _'My Danny would never do this.'_ She looked at the devastation around her, and shook her head. _'It just can't be him.'_ But it was, her Ecto-scanner had proved it. Dark Dan's ghost signature matched Danny's; it was him!

And even with that proof she couldn't believe it, because she didn't want to.

Valerie shook her head again and pressed forward, looking for any sign of survivors.

Right now it is daylight, it was strange for him to attack in the day; he never had before. Valerie could only assume that the Dark Dan felt more confident now with his new power, that ghostly wail of his could disable even the most sophisticated of her weaponry. Tears threatened to spill as she came across the wreckage of the most resent battle. Rubble from tanks and helicopters littered the streets around her.

Was there no end to his blood lust? There was no one left, no one left but her, the realization should have scared her, but it didn't. This was because she knew that for some reason he didn't want her dead. Yes, she was sure of it now, every time they cross paths he would engage at half strength, and let her get away.

But why?

' _Maybe he sees greater joy in my suffering, maybe he likes to see me squirm. Well I won't give him the satisfaction.'_ She thought. "I won't stop fighting, I will find a way to fix this!"

"There is no way to fix this." Dark Dan said appearing in front of her so suddenly that she bumped into his broad chest. "It's over Valerie, and I saved the best for last!" he said grabbing her by the collar. "You!"

"NO!" Valerie squirmed in his grip. "There has to be something, this can't be it!"

"Oh but it is!" Dark Dan cackled. "Any last words?"

Valerie glared up at him knowingly. "I wish I never left you get on that bus."

Dark Dan laughed once more. "Really?" He asked. "Well it's too bad you can't change the past."

Valerie's eyes widen at his words, and for good reason. He was right she could not change the past, but according to the Fenton's family ghost hunter files there was a ghost who could.

Clockwork…

According to the file his existence was never proven, but the master of time was populated in so much ghost lure that Maddie Fenton was sure that he truly existed.

' _It's a long shot.'_ Valerie thought, _'But if I can find him, and convince him to change this horrible future, then maybe there could be a chance.'_ Valerie grunted with new determination, and managed to wrestle her right arm free where she then used her own tongue to press a button on her glove.

Dark Dan screamed as he was suddenly electrocuted with a blast of ecto-lightning that radiated from her suit. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it administered enough pain to cause him to let go of her.

Valerie takes off running again, she had to find a way into the ghost world, and she knew just the thing to get her there. The Fenton Specter Speeder had been modified with a portable ghost portal thanks to her father, if she could get to it she could go into the Ghost Zone and see if this Clockwork really existed.

That is if The Specter Speeder was still intact and operational underneath all the rubble of FentonWorks. _'I have to at least try.'_ She thought.

A dark laugh erupted from behind her.

"You humans just don't know when to quit." Dark Dan mused, giving chase. "Where are you going Valerie? There is no place left in this world to run!"

"Then I guess I'll just have to find a different world to run to." Valerie shouted behind her as she turned onto the street of Danny's old home.

Dark Dan allowed her to stay just out of reach, enjoying the chase, after all once she was dead all the humans would be gone. And as much as he hated the weak things, they did bring quite the source of entertainment.

Valerie reached FentonWorks, and raced into the rubble, all that remained was the stairs down to the basement. She jumped down to the bottom of them hoping to buy herself more time, then without even allowing herself to catch her breath she began to push large pieces of debris aside in search of the Specter Speeder. She found it and to her amazement it appeared undamaged.

Valerie opened the driver side door and buckled up before starting the engine. "Okay now where is that guide?" Valerie asked. "Here!" She said spotting the button in question. Moments later an index of ghost appeared before her. She scrolled down to the name Clockwork and pressed it.

"Location of Clockwork unknown." The computer told her.

Valarie groaned in annoyance trying to think of a ghost she knew, finally one came to mind.

Skulker!

Valerie scrolled down and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the name of the ghost who could lead her to her salvation.

To all of their salvation.

"This thing can't help you." Dark Dan said, landing on the hood.

Valerie screeched and pressed Skulker's name.

"Skulker's location known." The computer said. "Deploying portable ghost portal now!"

"Portable ghost portal?" Dark Dan asked, getting every word. "You can't escape to the Ghost Zone, I can follow you there too you know."

Valerie ignored him and pressed the launch button.

Dark Dan jumped off the hood, and watched as the Specter Speeder raced off into a ghost portal that it somehow managed to produce on its own.

"She must have added the feature after I left." He whispered to himself. "Though I don't see why she would run there." He pondered this for a moment.

" _I won't stop fighting, I will find a way to fix this!"_

Her words echoed in his mind.

' _Does she really think she can find a way to fix everything?_ ' He wondered. _'And if so how is Skulker going to help? I'm way stronger then him now.'_

' _She's just wasting her energy on false hope.'_ He realized. _'Still I best follow her, just in case she knows something I don't.'_ With that final thought Dark Dan produced his own portal and raced off towards Skulker's Lar.

* * *

 **(Back with Valerie moments later…)**

She wasn't sure if he would help her, heck the ghostly hunter was more likely to skin her alive.

And yet, he was the last hope for humanity.

Valerie swallowed hard as the Specter Speeder came to a halt in the middle of Skulker's gaming reserve. She got out as cautiously as possible, and looked around slowly for any sight of the enemy.

"You should not have come here ghost hunter." A voice spoke from behind her.

Valerie turned slowly, expecting to see the usual appearance of the Ghost World's greatest hunter, but she was in for quite a shock.

Skulker, had united forces with Technus, the ghost of technology, and he now looked bigger, and stronger.

' _And dangerous.'_ She realized. _'Very dangerous.'_

"Please!" Valerie raised up her hands defensively. "I'm not her to fight." She whispered.

"To bad." Skulker, and Technus spoke as one, and with that they lunged.

"Wait I'm not here for you." She tried to explain, but he kept coming. Finally she screamed "I'm looking for Clockwork!"

Her attackers froze.

"Clockwork?" Technus asked, his face showing on a screen attached to Skulker's armor "What would a hunter like you want with the father of time."

"Yeah he never harmed a single human before." Skulker agreed.

"So he does exist?" Valerie asked.

"Why? What's it to you?" Technus asked.

"Look I'm not sure if you know about what's happening on Earth, but Danny Phantom has-."

"The ghost boy!" Technus yelled. "You brought him here?"

"No, he doesn't know I'm here." Valerie assured him. "I just need to find Clockwork okay."

"You want information then you better start explaining!" Skulker warned.

Valerie sighed. "He can alter time right?" She asked.

"Yes, Clockwork can manipulate time at will." Skulker answered.

"Good." Valerie said. "I want to find him, and convince him to make sure Danny never goes evil so that he doesn't devastate the human race."

"You want to get rid of the evil ghost boy?" Technus asked with a smile.

Skulker shared his own devilish grin. "Now this is something we can help with."

"Great just tell me the coordinates and I will be on my way." Valerie said felling relieved.

"I'm sending the coordinates to your vehicles computer now." Technus said, "But I must warn you Clockwork may not agree to help you."

"Why not?" Valerie asked.

"Because altering time is forbidden." Skulker answered. "His power is not for altering time."

"No He possess those powers to stop others from meddling with time." Technus cut in.

"I have to at least try and convince him." Valerie said.

"Very well, but don't come bothering us if he tells you no!" Technus lectured. "We just finished repairing our systems from the last time we faced off with the ghost child."

"Yeah, and we don't plan to get disassembled again." Skulker agreed. "At least not this quickly." He added.

"I understand." Valerie said, jumping back into the Specter Speeder.

"Ghost Technus sent coordinates to your inbox." The computer said. "Would you like me to navigate you to said coordinates?" it asked.

"Yes." Valerie said, hoping to whoever was listening that they really led to Clockwork, and not some elaborate trap. _'Too late to worry about that now.'_ She thought as the Specter Speeder took her off into the unknown.

"Well that was a pleasant visit." Skulker scoffed.

"Was it?" A voice asked.

Skulker froze, and turned around fearfully.

"Well." Dark Dan asked. "Aren't you boys going to tell me about your pleasant visit with Miss Valerie?"

"We're not talking!" Technus shouted. "And you can't make us!"

Dark Dan chuckled evilly, his eyes glowing bloody red. "How much do you want to bet?"


	10. Changing Fate's Design

**Author's Notes:** Like I said before after this we start at the beginning again! But I will write details of the story differently so it doesn't feel like the same old thing all over again. With that said enjoy this chapter, and please review.

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine

* * *

 **Chapter 10:** **Changing Fate's Design**

 **(Back with Dark Dan…)**

' _The nerve of that woman!'_

Dark Dan growled as he zoomed off in the direction that Skulker, and Technus had given him. Those weaklings were so pathetic that they begged for mercy before he even made a move to attack. _'I should have obliterated them for telling her that there was actually a way to stop me!'_

Hell, the fact that there actually was a way still irked him to say the least.

' _Relax.'_ Dark Dan told himself. _'According to those fools, Clockwork never interferes, he only watches. She'll never convince him to alter time in her favor.'_

Still, even as Dark Dan told himself these words doubt sunk in. _'No I worked too hard for this!'_ he thought.

And this statement was true. After Dark Dan destroyed his human self he escaped to the ghost world where he continued to perfect his power, challenging every ghost in sight until he was sure that he was the most powerful ghost in both worlds. He then set-off to Earth to punish the human race for being the weak creatures they are.

And now all that work could be in jeopardy! He could end up going back to the start of it all!

' _I will not go back to living a weak life of pain and emotions!'_

With that final thought still fresh on his mind Dark Dan doubled his speed determined to reach Clockwork's Lar in time.

* * *

 **(Back with Valerie…)**

She wasn't sure if there was really anything she could say, or do to change his mind; but that did not stop her.

' _I have to try.'_ Valerie thought as the Spector Speeder stopped in front of a large clock tower. She opened her door, and left the vehicle stopping only once at the entrance to stare up at it in all its glory. "Well here goes nothing." She said out loud. Then with one final deep breath she pressed forward into the unknown.

And what she saw made her gasp in amazement. The tower was dark, dust, and full of cobwebs, like the place hadn't been touched in years.

"Hello?" She cried. It was quiet, too quiet, and only the sound of her own echo, and shifting gears greeted her. "Is anyone here?"

No Answer.

"No Please you've got to be here!" Valerie exclaimed. "You're my only hope now." She looked around franticly, squinting in the darkness.

A shadow of something flashes past her, she sees it just outside the corner of her eye. Valerie whorls around. "Hello? Clockwork?"

"You are not welcomed here." A raspy voice spoke from behind her.

Valerie spun around again. "Clockwork?" She asked again, as a sketchy outline of a being approached her.

"Where you expecting someone else to be here?" Clockwork asked, stepping out of the shadows.

Valerie winched at the sight of him, she wasn't expecting this.

At the moment Clockwork was in his elder form, making him look old and wrinkly with a big scar running down his face. His purple robes looked unkept, and he bared no time staff. It was obvious that the ghost was a shell of what he once was, but she ignored that fact, after all she didn't have much time. Dark Dan could already be onto her plans by now.

"Please I've come to-" Valerie began, but Clockwork cut her off.

"I know why you are here." He snapped. "And the answer is no."

"Please you have to alter time!" Valerie exclaimed, not in the least bit shocked that he already knew her reasoning for being there. He was the father of time after all, which meant he most likely saw her coming before the thought to seek him out ever came to her mind.

"Why?" Clockwork asked. "So that you can be saved? So that you may be spared this horrible fate!"

"No!" Valerie snapped. "I don't care about me!" She cried.

And it was true, Clockwork could see the truth in her eyes in an instant. This human girl was not like the Observants who only cared for their own safety. No, she cared for others while the Observants only wanted his to destroy the boy to preserve their own hides. They were selfish, and got what they deserved when Dark Dan Destroyed them, and every member of the ghost council years ago.

However, this girl was different, she knew the dangers of coming her into the Ghost Zone, a world full of ghost that she had defeated and trapped here. Ghost that would love to get revenge on all she had done to them, and yet she came here anyways.

Clockwork looked at her thoughtfully, he had long ago gave up the hope of finding someone who thought this way. The Observants, the humans, and the ghost, they all thought of themselves first, even the heroes of the world would rather cheat and solidify their futures then do the right thing for the sake of others. But this Valerie was different, she truly had nothing left, she could have come here begging him to destroy Danny as a child as The Observants had did in hopes of getting revenge.

But she did ask for death, no she asked for a change.

' _Maybe there is hope for the universe after all…'_ he thought, and yet part of him was still not convinced.

"If not for your own sake then who's?" Clockwork asked.

"Everyone's!" Valerie said. "I mean honestly how can you stand here and do nothing when you know how bad it is right now!"

"This is how fate designed things to play out." Clockwork explained. "Who am I to argue with fate's design?"

"What design?" Valerie asked.

"Allow me to show you." Clockwork said, as his time staff appeared in his hand. A time rift flickered on showing the past events. "Danny Fenton cheated on his CAT, he cheated at life; and there for fate showed him the consequences."

Valerie watched in shock as the Nasty Burger exploded, and Danny fell on his knees screaming in horror as he lost everything he loved. She was disgusted, but more than that she was angry. "Seriously!" She snapped. "All of this happens because he cheated on a stupid test!"

"Yes." Clockwork answered. "Cheating is wrong, he knows this."

"He's also a child!" Valerie snapped. "Or he was, we couldn't have been no older than 14! A child his age wouldn't understand the full weight of his own decisions. He wouldn't understand that there are consequences. And if he does than he doesn't realize they can be that extreme. "

"That doesn't make it right." Clockwork countered.

"No, but him cheating doesn't make this right either!" Valerie yelled. "It was one mistake!"

"All it takes is one." Clockwork said. "Just one mistake can ruin your life forever."

"Wrong!" Valerie disagreed.

"You think so?" Clockwork gave her an inquisitive look.

"It's never too late!" Valerie said. "Everyone deserves a second chance, everyone makes mistakes. The point is to learn from them." She screamed. "You should know that! You're the father of time, you should be using your powers to make the world a better place, not sitting on the side lines and doing nothing!"

"It is not fates design for me to interfere." Clockwork explained. "There are laws that must be followed."

"I don't care about the rules!" Valerie said. "Any rule that says this devastation is okay is wrong!" Tears spilled down her face. "That monster! You made him this way!" She cried. "If you had used your power to show him the dark path he was heading down you could have saved him! But no you chose to do nothing and now Danny is gone, and that monster is all that's left of him!"

"So you are asking me to change time for his sake?" Clockwork asked.

"Yes." Valerie said. "It was one mistake, no one deserves to be put through that much pain. Everyone deserves a second chance!"

"But he killed everyone." Clockwork reasoned. "He killed all those innocent people, he killed your father, he even tried to kill you. Someone who has done nothing but try to help him-"

"I don't care!" Valerie said, clenching her fist. "Danny was pure, and just, and thoughtful, he risked everything; including his own life to save others! And you just watched as his ghost half as it ripped him apart!" Tears spilled from her eyes as she spoke.

"I did not watch." Clockwork admitted. "These rifts had been off since the day of the Nasty Burger explosion." These words were true, the truth was Clockwork already knew what was to happen next, and he could not stomach watching it and all its horror.

Valerie realized this in a heartbeat. "You're worse than he is, all the blood on his hands is on yours too! At least I tried, we all tried, but where were you? I'd rather try, and fail then not try at all!"

"Even if you already know your efforts are useless?" Clockwork asked. "What if I told you Dark Dan will exist in the future no matter what I, or anyone else does to stop it?"

"I wouldn't care." Valerie said. "At least I tried. Even if my efforts only stalled the inevitable, at least we would have a little more time together, at least Danny would still be himself a little longer! And we'd all be alive, and together, and happy. After all isn't that how life is anyways?" She asked.

Clockwork perked up at her words, for these words steered up something deep inside of him. Reminding him of words and thoughts that he too had not so long ago.

"We all die eventually." Valerie said. "But we still put an effort into our lives all the same. Even if living is a means to an end, we still fight! We fight it by staying as fit, and healthy for as long as possible. We avoid it with distractions; like friends and family. We allow ourselves to get close to someone even though we know we may lose them one day. We chose to live for the moment. We chose to take the bull by the horns, and change life for the better. Even if we know deep down are chances of doing so are slim to none. We do it anyways for not just our own sakes, but everyone else around us as well. Isn't that what living is all about?"

"Yes." Clockwork said with a smile. "That is exactly what life is, a means to an end that we constantly fight to change no matter what the cost may be."

Valerie smiled sensing a change in the being before her. "Does that mean you'll do it?" She asked.

Clockwork nodded. "Yes, I will change fates design." He said turning all the Time riffs back on, and causing the dust, and cobwebs to dissipate with a wave of his staff.

"Thank you." Valerie said.

"No, thank you." Clockwork said. "Thank you for reminding me of why I took this job in the first place." He said as he shifted to his child form. "When the Observants first made me the father of time I too wanted to use my powers to manipulate the world for the better."

"So why didn't you?" Valerie asked.

"They would not allow it." Clockwork explained. "It was against the rules, and I was too cowardly to speak against them. Sure I would beg them to allow me to alter time, but they always told me no. And I was too fearful to disobey, fearing that they were right; that the rules were there for a reason."

"Were they?" Valerie asked. "Did they really have a good reason to ignore all the bad things that have happened in the world?"

"They feared a paradox could be formed, or that our meddling would cause more harm than good." Clockwork answered. "And I accepted that answer, until they started breaking their own rules; forcing me to change things they did not like. Finally bitter, and disgusted I decided to stop listening to their request, I was convinced that fate chose this path for a reason."

"You were convinced that we all deserved this." Valerie realized.

"Yes, but not anymore thanks to you." Clockwork said.

"I don't get it." Valerie said. "Thousands must have come and asked you the same thing why listen to me and not them?"

"Because like the Observants they ask for their own salvation." Clockwork told her. "But you asked for his, while others asked me to kill Danny you ask me to save him."

"He's saved all of us a hundred times over." Valerie said. "He deserves the favor to be returned."

"You do realize the sacrifice you are making here, don't you?" Clockwork asked.

"What do you mean?" Valerie asked. What could she possibly be sacrificing by changing Danny's past for the better?"

Clockwork sighed. "You two only become friends because he loses everything. You reached out to him, because you could relate." He explained. "He will never know you the way he knew you then. If I change the past he will still have Tucker, and Sam, and you're friendship may never get the chance to exist. Are you willing to make that sacrifice?"

"Yes." Valerie said without hesitation. "If it means that he will stay the same as he was then yes, I will sacrifice our friendship a hundred times over if that's what it takes, just make this right!"

Clockwork nodded. "So be it." He moved to press the button on the top of his staff.

"Not so fast!" Dark Dan declared as he stormed into the castle. "You're not taking my future away from me!" he lunged for the father of time.

"No!" Valerie panicked, and stepped in front of Clockwork protectively.

"There is no need to protect me." Clockwork said.

"But he-!" Valerie began.

"Here wear this." Clockwork said placing a gearshift shaped medallion around her neck.

Dark Dan had just enough time to take in the piece of jewelry, there was nothing special about it only that it bared the initials CW for Clockwork. "How's some petty trinket supposed to save her!" he declared still coming at full speed.

"Like this." Clockwork said, punching the button up top his staff. "Time Out!"

Valerie watched as Dark Dan froze in midflight. "What did you do to him?" she asked.

"Nothing." Clockwork answered. "I paused time, you are not effected due to the medallion around you neck." He explained.

"Oh I get it." She said. "It's like a get out of time card."

"Precisely." Clockwork answered.

A moment of silence passed over them…

It does not last long.

"So what now?" Valerie asked.

"I do the one thing I've been wanting to do since I started this job." Clockwork answered. "I manipulate time for the better. But before I do any last words to your friend here?" he asked gesturing to Dark Dan.

Valerie nodded. "Goodbye." She said to the frozen Dark Dan. "I hope to see your better side really soon, I miss him dearly."

Clockwork nodded, and with a wave of his staff he said. "Rewind!"


	11. Déjà vu Anyone?

**Author's Notes:** Okay guys again please do not skip this chapter! I am trying really hard to make this sound as less as a repeat as possible.

With that said please enjoy, and tell me what you think.

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Blast from the FUTURE?**

 **(Back With Clockwork…)**

Clockwork raises his staff yet again, (Man he does that a lot!) and time skips forward once more.

It is now the next morning, the day before the life changing test, and there was much work to be done. His eyes shifted to the Observants just to his left. They were strangely quiet, no doubt trying to figure out what he was planning _. 'Let them wonder.'_ He thought. _'I have more important things to worry about.'_ He reminded himself as the rift before him showed Danny and his friends walking down the halls of their school.

It was important for him to focus, now that he had made a crucial change to the original design anything could happen. His one change had already started a butterfly effect of changes all around them, and if he missed one crucial detail, no matter how small all his efforts could be lost, and then he'd have to start this mess all over again.

And Clockwork really hated repeating himself!

So he forced himself to ignore the Observants and focus on the boy, and the world around him.

* * *

 **(Back with Danny…)**

His future,

He knew it was not something to be messing around with, no it was something to be taken seriously. And he was being serious however, convincing Tucker and Sam was not proving to be an easy feat. Then again nothing in his life was easy. Ever since he got these powers he had been struggling to float above the surface of his enormous ocean of problems. And now his future was at stake and all because ghost hunting left him with no time to study!

Why shouldn't he get a little bonus for helping save the world?

Just a little leverage to help things go his way wasn't so bad right?

Oh who was he kidding? This was his future he was messing around with!

Danny Fenton bit his lip warily as he, and his two friends walked down the halls of Casper High. _'Maybe their right.'_ He thought to himself. _'I can't cheat my way through the rest of my life.'_ Still the temptation to do so was over powering, especially when he already had the answers in his hands.

' _Besides the test is tomorrow.'_ He reasoned with his guilt. _'And with all my Ghost fighting I've had not time to study for the CAT!'_

"So, are you going to return the test answers or not?" Sam finally asked. She didn't want to come off as naggy, but the silence had been killing her, that and she really thought Danny would make the right call.

"I will! I will." Danny assured her. "I'm just...waiting for the right moment." He reasoned.

"Like, maybe, after the test?" Tucker joked, knowingly.

Both Sam, and Danny frowns at him.

Tucker scoffed as they pass by the teacher's lounge "Yeah, you're right. You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future."

The door to the teacher's lounge opens, and Mr. Lancer looks after them quizzically. Had he heard them right? Where they really talking about cheating? Shutting the door again, he goes to the sofa and sets the briefcase down on the coffee table. He pulls out a key and unlocks the briefcase, and gasps upon finding it empty.

Tucker Folley's words suddenly plagued his mind. " _You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future."_

Mr. Lancer shook his head, unsure. _'No, Daniel maybe a slacker, but he would never…or would he?'_

' _It's best to be sure.'_ Mr. Lancer thought, as he uncuffed himself from the now empty briefcase. _'But how? I mean I could accuse him, but what if I'm wrong and someone else stole the answers? This is his future were talking about!'_

' _I Know!'_ he suddenly had it! _'I'll get his sister to confirm it for me.'_ He steps out of the teacher's lounge, and sets out to find Jazz Fenton.

Luckily for him the Brainiac wasn't far.

Mr. Lancer turns the corner down the hall to see several Casper High girls looking angry as Jazz as she talked away about her successful future. "So, it's a choice between Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and I can't make up my mind!"

The girls all turn and walk away, obviously jealous of her success, and Jazz's smile drops. "So...see you after school?" She asked hopefully.

No answer.

Jazz frowned.

Mr. Lancer takes this moment to make his approach, walking up to Jazz he says. "Ms. Fenton, may I speak with you after school?"

Jazz looks alarmed, but nods her agreement just as the bell to head to first period rings around them loudly. "I better get to class." She stuttered, and hurried off.

' _What was that all about?'_ She wondered. She wasn't sure, but something told her it was bad, really bad!

And it was, it was the worst thing she could possibly imagine.

Clockwork raises his staff once more, and time skips forward again.

The scene in the present day rift shifts to FentonWorks at night. In Danny's room, the trio are sitting in a circle on the floor; around Clockwork's medallion. Tucker connects a pair of wires from it to his PDA, and begins to try and fiddle with it.

However Clockwork is not worried, the tech is far to advance for him to hack into with that primitive device.

"I can't seem to hack into it." Tucker soon said, confirming the ghost's suspicions. "It's really hi-tech."

"Yeah, like it's from the future or something." Sam pointed out, hinting at the truth without realizing it.

Danny gets up smiling nervously. "Well, speaking of the future, I think it's time I started preparing for mine." He says picks up his backpack, and pulling out the sealed answer sheet.

"You mean cheat." Sam pointed out.

"I didn't say cheat." Danny said defensively.

"You didn't say not cheat." Tucker pointed out the obvious.

Danny face-palms "Guys, come on. I'd love to have spent the last month studying, but I was fighting ghosts! Besides, if you two think this test is so meaningless why do you even care if I cheat? Why shouldn't I open this up and study the answers, huh?" He asked holding up the answer packet.

Sam and Tucker look at each other nervously, and Clockwork prepares for the moment that he has chosen to be the time for his next big change.

"No answer?" Danny asked placing the answer sheet back down on his dresser. "Well that's all the answer I need." He said confidently, though he still looks down at the packet hesitating slightly.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Tucker asked Sam hopefully.

"I'm his friend, not his mom." Sam said giving Danny a dirty look. "He wants to cheat, he can cheat."

"That's it!" Clockwork declared before saying. "Time Out!"

Everything freezes once more as the father of time appears by the frozen Danny. He snaps his fingers and an unconscious Skulktech appears. Clockwork wastes no time, placing a time medallion around his neck.

"What?" A screen with Technus' face asked in a confused manner.

"You are back in time." Clockwork answered them. "I am Clockwork, and my employers want you to kill this child." He gestured to Danny.

"The Ghost boy?" Skulker asked. "You want us to destroy him here where he is weak."

"With our futuristic strength that he could never hope to defeat us in his premature state?" Technus asked slyly. "But that sounds so unfair."

"Yeah for him." Skulker scoffed.

"So you'll do it then?" Clockwork asked.

"With pleasure." The two ghost spoke as one.

Clockwork smiled. "Perfect." He mused, before shouting. "Time In!" He then vanishes in a swirling ball of light as time moves forward once more.

Danny's eyes narrowed, turning ghostly green with anger. "It's not cheating, it's studying!" And with those final words he rips off the seal!

Suddenly Danny freezes as his ghost sense goes off. "Seriously a ghost now!" he complains, before stuffing the now unsealed answer sheet back in his book bag.

Sam and Tucker sigh in relief, only to stop as they notice Danny is watching.

"I mean...Oh no, a ghost." Sam exclaimed sarcastically.

"You see this is a perfect example." Danny said as he changed into his ghost form. "I'd like to have time to study, but they never give me a break!" He then turns to confront the ghost only to be given yet another shock.

It's another new ghost with a gearshift medallion around its neck. The ghost is a combination of Skulker and Technus, with Skulker's head in the typical head spot and Technus' face embedded on a screen in the middle of the chest.

Danny goes ghost and leaps at the ghost, who easily backhands him into the wall. He slides to the floor and glares up. "Who are you supposed to be?" he growled.

"I am Skulktech 9.9, the future Ghost World's greatest hunter!" The former Skulker exclaimed.

"With its greatest techno-villain as his operating system!" Technus added.

"Skulker and Technus together?" Danny asked, bewildered.

"Okay is that an EW, or a yikes?" Tucker asked fearfully.

Several claw-ended arms spring out of Skulktech.

"Definitely a yikes." Danny admitted as the new duo move in for the kill.

Danny barely misses getting slammed by a cluster of arms. Then going intangible, he snags Tucker and Sam and flies them out of the room, then returns through the door.

Skulktech knocks him around for a bit, then grabs him by the neck and holds him up. "Say goodbye, Ghost Child!" he says. They lift a claw arm, which begins to spin like a scale saw. Suddenly their gauntlet starts beeping the tune to Reveille. "Someone's hacked into the system? Again?! I thought we fixed that!"

"We did!" Technus assured him. "We must have accidentally synced up with somebody else's PDA!"

Skulktech goes intangible against his will, and their jets fire off. Dropping Danny, they take off through the ceiling.

The door opens and Tucker and Sam come in.

"Wow." Tuck said, looking disappointed. "I can still hack into his operating system with my handheld computer. I don't know whether that's exciting or depressing."

Danny leaps to his feet, and going intangible, he flies up through the ceiling. "Come on, follow me!" he shouts.

Tucker, and Sam frown in annoyance

"We'll walk." Tucker said defeated.

* * *

 **(Back with Jazz…)**

Danny flies after Skulktech across the evening sky. Below, at Casper High, Jazz and Mr. Lancer are talking.

"So you're saying Danny stole the C.A.T. test answers? But how?" Jazz asked.

"I don't know." Mr. Lancer admits holding up the empty briefcase. "Unless your brother suddenly gained the ability to turn invisible and reach through solid objects?"

Jazz cringing, Danny did have ghost powers, and was completely capable of such a feat, but this fact did not make her opinion waver. She knows her brother is secretly a hero saving them all from ghostly terrors, and is still determined to defend her brother. "But Mr. Lancer, you still have no proof Danny took the test answers."

Mr. Lancer signed, but agreed all the same. "Fair enough. He has up until the test to return the answers. But if he cheats, I won't just fail him. I'll destroy his future."

Jazz bit her lip, hoping and praying to her lucky stars that she was right about Danny being innocent. _'It can't be him.'_ She thought. _'He's the good guy.'_

Still even good guys make mistakes.

' _But not Danny!'_ Jazz argued with herself. _'And I'm going to prove it!'_ And with that final thought she march off in the direction of home; determined to prove it!

* * *

 **(Back in the air, Danny is still chasing Skulktech…)**

"What are you waiting for?" Skulker asked, as they flew around out of control. "Activate the Purple back Gorilla Override!"

"Don't tell me how to do my job!" Technus snapped.

Danny zaps them with an ectoblast, and they fall from the sky to crash into the ruin of the Nasty Burger right beside the heating element which shows the meter inching higher.

They imminently get back up, and attack the boy with their own new technique

"Activating Phantom Palm Pummeler!" Technus stated. Their hand opens, sending out a blueish-white ray that catches Danny and knocks him off course, smoking. It hits him again and he reverts to human form. He falls a short way before going back to ghost form.

Danny's eyes widen as he realizes the truth. "You're shorting out my powers?!"

"Indeed." Skulker confirmed his suspicions "Pummeler might not work on you in the future, but we had a feeling it would work on you here."

"The Future?" Danny asked, obviously confused.

Technus laughed. "Oh, I love it. You're much less powerful than that other Phantom we have to deal with!" He exclaimed hitting him with a third blast turning him human once more.

"What are you two talking aboooou Aaah!" He exclaims, falling, only to catch himself one-handed on a flagpole. Danny looks up, shocked "Wow. That flagpole thing works? I thought for sure it would-" He gasped as the pole snaps "breeaaaak!" He shouts falling and bounces off an awning into a pile of trash bags. "Guess I don't have a future as an Olympic gymnast." He realized out loud.

An arm snakes through the pile and grabs him around the middle, zapping him.

Danny screams and it slams him to the ground.

"You don't have a future, period!" Skulker hissed. "Not anymore!"

"I wouldn't bet on that." Tucker said, cutting in as he ran his override program on his PDA. A red laser hits Skulktech and they short out, falling. As they fall they catch themselves on a flagpole.

"Aw, poo." They say. "Wow, that flagpole thing—" They never finish for the pole snaps and they fall, crashing and landing doubled over a lamppost.

"Way to go, guys!" Danny cheerers while still trapped in the cuffed arm.

Sam sighs. "Come on, Tucker, let's see if we can get this off!" She grabs the cuff and Tucker grabs Sam as they try to wrench it open.

"You might want to hide for this part." Clockwork admitted to the Observers as they continued to watch the events playing out on the rifts.

"What for?" Melk asked.

"Just trust me." Clockwork insisted.

"Very well." Klem agreed, but they didn't look happy about it.

Once they were hidden Clockwork hid in the shadows himself and then snapped his fingers.

Suddenly Skulktech's medallion falls off and falls to the ground, the three friends start to glow blueish-white.

The glow races along the arm, enveloping the trio, and Skulktech.

Seconds later they all vanish!

The Time Rifts in Clockworks tower begin to show swirls of green, and gears tick and turn everywhere. One rift blazes, and Skulktech and the trio are thrown through it to land on the floor.

The cuff springs open.

Danny stretches his back, happy to finally be free.

Tucker looked around in awe. "Where are we?" He asked.

The three wander around the tower, looking up into the gear-ridden darkness. They approach a window with a clock face embedded in it.

"I don't know." Danny answered. "The Ghost Zone, I think. But...no part of the Ghost Zone I've ever seen."

"It happened right after his medallion fell off." Sam realized.

"Then I think I know how to get us back!" Tucker said seeing a box on the wall, where six more of the medallions hang. Tucker seizes one and puts it around his neck. Pumping his arms triumphantly he says, "Haha!" But nothing happens.

Looking around, Tucker drops his hands in defeat. "Nothing, huh?" he asked.

"No, but nice bling." She teased before going to take a closer look at one of the rifts.

It's the future time rift, which begins to show Danny's Dark future.

Danny looks more closely at Tucker's medallion. "I don't like this." He admitted.

"You're going to like this even less." Sam said, ushering them over.

The boys join Sam at the rift, where Dark Dan is laughing and throwing ecto-blasts at screaming people and buildings, then laughing. A label on the rift reads FUTURE: 10 YEARS.

"I think I'm seeing your future." Sam told Danny. "And you're kind of a jerk."

On the rift, tanks, helicopters, and police cars approach Dark Dan. He easily dispatches the lot of them with his Ghostly Wail.

Sam looks aghast. "Ok, you're really a jerk." She corrected herself.

Danny pushes Sam out of the way. "Wow, what is that?" He asked all excited, as he witnessed Dark Dan's latest new power. "Some kind of ghostly wail? What a cool power!"

Sam and Tucker give him a cross look.

Danny backtracks quickly "...If it weren't being used for evil!"

Tucker turns to Skulktech and clicking on his PDA. "Let's see if this future boy knows any more about—"

Glowing blueish-white, Skulktech suddenly rises and flies back into the future rift.

"I didn't do that." He admits.

"No, I did." Clockwork says, finally coming out of hiding.

The trio all look up as adult Clockwork descends from the darkness.

"I sent him back to his own time." Clockwork explained, switching to elderly version. "Or, should I say, forward to his own time. You see, for me, time moves backwards and forwards, and—" He pauses realizing the blank expression of his audience, and sighs. "Oh, why am I bothering? You're fourteen." He said remembering how Future Valerie had said a 14 year old teen doesn't really understand the connections of the time stream, and how their actions effect it.

"Who are you?" Danny asked. "Where are we?"

Clockwork's brow rose. "Introductions?" He asked. "Fine. I am Clockwork, Master of Time." He explained. "I've been charged with the task of eliminating your future, so that-" He says pointing at the future time rift "Never happens."

In the rift, Dark Danny picks up a tank and throws it, then tosses a few more ecto-blasts around.

"You've got to be kidding me." Danny snapped. "Name one evil thing I've done!"

Smiling, an adult Clockwork points his staff at the present day time rift. In it, we see Jazz pulling the C.A.T. answer packet out of Danny's backpack and gasping, "Danny is a cheater!"

"Bet you can't find two!" Tucker challenged.

In the rift, a sobbing Jazz turns into Dark Danny standing triumphantly over the wreckage of a city street, decorated liberally with fallen helicopters.

"How about two thousand?" Clockwork asked switches to his child form.

"I don't have to sit here and explain myself to you!" Danny shouted. "I'm going ghost!" He does so, and flies at adult Clockwork.

Clockwork smiles and says. "Time out!" He then points his now-glowing staff at Danny, who slows and freezes in place just short of it, then rewinds to fly backward, land, and return to his human form. Clockwork then allows time to play forward once more.

"I'm going ghost!" Danny said, only to freeze. "—Whoa serious Déjà vu." He admits putting his hand to his head. He shakes it off, and goes ghost once more before flying back at Clockwork again.

Clockwork punches button on his staff again, grinning. "Time out!" Danny slows way down, and Clockwork swoops off to the side; Danny watches him go. "Time in!"

Danny resumes normal speed, his momentum carrying him through the spot Clockwork previously occupied and slamming him into the clock tower bell.

Clockwork then rewinds and forwards him through colliding with the bell several times. "I could do this all day." He admitted, changing back to his elderly form. "But I have a schedule to keep." He said remembering to keep his meddling short and sweet. With that said he presses the button one last time, and Danny crashes to the ground. Above, Clockwork pulls a scythe from the hands of a reaper statue and swoops down.

"Danny! Look out!" Tucker, and Sam say together.

Danny zips out of the way and the scythe comes down on a gear, shattering it. Clockwork shakes his head and freezes him in midair. Then looming over Danny with the scythe he goes to swing his death down on to the young halfa. Of course Clockwork has no real intention of killing the boy, this is merely a ruse to keep the Observants from discovering his real motives. "Times up Ghost Boy." He declared for dramatic effect.

Over to the side, Sam is also frozen in the act of gasping, but Tucker is unaffected.

"Hey, wait! Why would he freeze time for Danny and not for us?" Tucker asked, only to turn and notice Sam too is frozen. He waves his hand in her face. "Sam?" _'How come I'm not affected?'_ He wondered. Then he gasped and remembered his medallion, he looks down at it, grinning to himself. "I knew these medallions were good for something. It's like a Get out of Time Free card!" He then runs and grabs a pair of medallions from the wall.

Tucker then races over and snatches the scythe from Clockwork's grasp.

"Sorry, no sudden death overtime in this game!" Tucker declares before throwing the medallions to the right and left. The first one lands around Sam's neck; she blinks then assumes a fighting stance. The second one lands around Danny's and he abruptly resumes his flight trajectory.

"Huh? What happened?" He asked landing in between Tucker and Sam.

Sam held up her medallion knowingly. "We leveled the playing field." She explained to him. "Now just get the bad guy!"

Clockwork scowls in fake anger in order to keep up the charade. "You three have seen too much. You must be eliminated before you permanently alter the time stream." He said darkly as five ghost soldiers from different eras appear one by one, fully armed.

The trio gasps as the ghost soldiers surround them with no way out.

"Nowhere to run, children." Clockwork muses.

Danny looks all around him seeing his words to be true that is until he see the Future time rift behind him. Suddenly he has an idea. "Nowhere but the future!" He cried before grabbing Sam and Tucker, and jumping into the rift.

Clockwork smiles darkly, shifting into his child form.

"Then let's see if you have what it takes to face that future…"


	12. Blast from the FUTURE?

**Author's Notes:** Okay guys again please do not skip this chapter! I am trying really hard to make this sound as less as a repeat as possible.

With that said please enjoy, and tell me what you think.

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Blast from the FUTURE?**

 **(Back With Clockwork…)**

Clockwork raises his staff yet again, (Man he does that a lot!) and time skips forward once more.

It is now the next morning, the day before the life changing test, and there was much work to be done. His eyes shifted to the Observants just to his left. They were strangely quiet, no doubt trying to figure out what he was planning _. 'Let them wonder.'_ He thought. _'I have more important things to worry about.'_ He reminded himself as the rift before him showed Danny and his friends walking down the halls of their school.

It was important for him to focus, now that he had made a crucial change to the original design anything could happen. His one change had already started a butterfly effect of changes all around them, and if he missed one crucial detail, no matter how small all his efforts could be lost, and then he'd have to start this mess all over again.

And Clockwork really hated repeating himself!

So he forced himself to ignore the Observants and focus on the boy, and the world around him.

* * *

 **(Back with Danny…)**

His future,

He knew it was not something to be messing around with, no it was something to be taken seriously. And he was being serious however, convincing Tucker and Sam was not proving to be an easy feat. Then again nothing in his life was easy. Ever since he got these powers he had been struggling to float above the surface of his enormous ocean of problems. And now his future was at stake and all because ghost hunting left him with no time to study!

Why shouldn't he get a little bonus for helping save the world?

Just a little leverage to help things go his way wasn't so bad right?

Oh who was he kidding? This was his future he was messing around with!

Danny Fenton bit his lip warily as he, and his two friends walked down the halls of Casper High. _'Maybe their right.'_ He thought to himself. _'I can't cheat my way through the rest of my life.'_ Still the temptation to do so was over powering, especially when he already had the answers in his hands.

' _Besides the test is tomorrow.'_ He reasoned with his guilt. _'And with all my Ghost fighting I've had not time to study for the CAT!'_

"So, are you going to return the test answers or not?" Sam finally asked. She didn't want to come off as naggy, but the silence had been killing her, that and she really thought Danny would make the right call.

"I will! I will." Danny assured her. "I'm just...waiting for the right moment." He reasoned.

"Like, maybe, after the test?" Tucker joked, knowingly.

Both Sam, and Danny frowns at him.

Tucker scoffed as they pass by the teacher's lounge "Yeah, you're right. You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future."

The door to the teacher's lounge opens, and Mr. Lancer looks after them quizzically. Had he heard them right? Where they really talking about cheating? Shutting the door again, he goes to the sofa and sets the briefcase down on the coffee table. He pulls out a key and unlocks the briefcase, and gasps upon finding it empty.

Tucker Folley's words suddenly plagued his mind. " _You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future."_

Mr. Lancer shook his head, unsure. _'No, Daniel maybe a slacker, but he would never…or would he?'_

' _It's best to be sure.'_ Mr. Lancer thought, as he uncuffed himself from the now empty briefcase. _'But how? I mean I could accuse him, but what if I'm wrong and someone else stole the answers? This is his future were talking about!'_

' _I Know!'_ he suddenly had it! _'I'll get his sister to confirm it for me.'_ He steps out of the teacher's lounge, and sets out to find Jazz Fenton.

Luckily for him the Brainiac wasn't far.

Mr. Lancer turns the corner down the hall to see several Casper High girls looking angry as Jazz as she talked away about her successful future. "So, it's a choice between Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and I can't make up my mind!"

The girls all turn and walk away, obviously jealous of her success, and Jazz's smile drops. "So...see you after school?" She asked hopefully.

No answer.

Jazz frowned.

Mr. Lancer takes this moment to make his approach, walking up to Jazz he says. "Ms. Fenton, may I speak with you after school?"

Jazz looks alarmed, but nods her agreement just as the bell to head to first period rings around them loudly. "I better get to class." She stuttered, and hurried off.

' _What was that all about?'_ She wondered. She wasn't sure, but something told her it was bad, really bad!

And it was, it was the worst thing she could possibly imagine.

Clockwork raises his staff once more, and time skips forward again.

The scene in the present day rift shifts to FentonWorks at night. In Danny's room, the trio are sitting in a circle on the floor; around Clockwork's medallion. Tucker connects a pair of wires from it to his PDA, and begins to try and fiddle with it.

However Clockwork is not worried, the tech is far to advance for him to hack into with that primitive device.

"I can't seem to hack into it." Tucker soon said, confirming the ghost's suspicions. "It's really hi-tech."

"Yeah, like it's from the future or something." Sam pointed out, hinting at the truth without realizing it.

Danny gets up smiling nervously. "Well, speaking of the future, I think it's time I started preparing for mine." He says picks up his backpack, and pulling out the sealed answer sheet.

"You mean cheat." Sam pointed out.

"I didn't say cheat." Danny said defensively.

"You didn't say not cheat." Tucker pointed out the obvious.

Danny face-palms "Guys, come on. I'd love to have spent the last month studying, but I was fighting ghosts! Besides, if you two think this test is so meaningless why do you even care if I cheat? Why shouldn't I open this up and study the answers, huh?" He asked holding up the answer packet.

Sam and Tucker look at each other nervously, and Clockwork prepares for the moment that he has chosen to be the time for his next big change.

"No answer?" Danny asked placing the answer sheet back down on his dresser. "Well that's all the answer I need." He said confidently, though he still looks down at the packet hesitating slightly.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Tucker asked Sam hopefully.

"I'm his friend, not his mom." Sam said giving Danny a dirty look. "He wants to cheat, he can cheat."

"That's it!" Clockwork declared before saying. "Time Out!"

Everything freezes once more as the father of time appears by the frozen Danny. He snaps his fingers and an unconscious Skulktech appears. Clockwork wastes no time, placing a time medallion around his neck.

"What?" A screen with Technus' face asked in a confused manner.

"You are back in time." Clockwork answered them. "I am Clockwork, and my employers want you to kill this child." He gestured to Danny.

"The Ghost boy?" Skulker asked. "You want us to destroy him here where he is weak."

"With our futuristic strength that he could never hope to defeat in his premature state?" Technus asked slyly. "But that sounds so unfair."

"Yeah for him." Skulker scoffed.

"So you'll do it then?" Clockwork asked.

"With pleasure." The two ghost spoke as one.

Clockwork smiled. "Perfect." He mused, before shouting. "Time In!" He then vanishes in a swirling ball of light as time moves forward once more.

Danny's eyes narrowed, turning ghostly green with anger. "It's not cheating, it's studying!" And with those final words he rips off the seal!

Suddenly Danny freezes as his ghost sense goes off. "Seriously a ghost now!" he complains, before stuffing the now unsealed answer sheet back in his book bag.

Sam and Tucker sigh in relief, only to stop as they notice Danny is watching.

"I mean...Oh no, a ghost." Sam exclaimed sarcastically.

"You see this is a perfect example." Danny said as he changed into his ghost form. "I'd like to have time to study, but they never give me a break!" He then turns to confront the ghost only to be given yet another shock.

It's another new ghost with a gearshift medallion around its neck. The ghost is a combination of Skulker and Technus, with Skulker's head in the typical head spot and Technus's face embedded on a screen in the middle of the chest.

Danny goes ghost and leaps at the ghost, who easily backhands him into the wall. He slides to the floor and glares up. "Who are you supposed to be?" he growled.

"I am Skulktech 9.9, the future Ghost World's greatest hunter!" The former Skulker exclaimed.

"With its greatest techno-villain as his operating system!" Technus added.

"Skulker and Technus together?" Danny asked, bewildered.

"Okay is that an EW, or a yikes?" Tucker asked fearfully.

Several claw-ended arms spring out of Skulktech.

"Definitely a yikes." Danny admitted as the new duo move in for the kill.

Danny barely misses getting slammed by a cluster of arms. Then going intangible, he snags Tucker and Sam and flies them out of the room, then returns through the door.

Skulktech knocks him around for a bit, then grabs him by the neck and holds him up. "Say goodbye, Ghost Child!" he says. They lift a claw arm, which begins to spin like a scale saw. Suddenly their gauntlet starts beeping the tune to Reveille. "Someone's hacked into the system? Again?! I thought we fixed that!"

"We did!" Technus assured him. "We must have accidentally synced up with somebody else's PDA!"

Skulktech goes intangible against his will, and their jets fire off. Dropping Danny, they take off through the ceiling.

The door opens and Tucker and Sam come in.

"Wow." Tuck said, looking disappointed. "I can still hack into his operating system with my handheld computer. I don't know whether that's exciting or depressing."

Danny leaps to his feet, and going intangible, he flies up through the ceiling. "Come on, follow me!" he shouts.

Tucker, and Sam frown in annoyance

"We'll walk." Tucker said defeated.

* * *

 **(Back with Jazz…)**

Danny flies after Skulktech across the evening sky. Below, at Casper High, Jazz and Mr. Lancer are talking.

"So you're saying Danny stole the C.A.T. test answers? But how?" Jazz asked.

"I don't know." Mr. Mr. Lancer admits holding up the empty briefcase. "Unless your brother suddenly gained the ability to turn invisible and reach through solid objects?"

Jazz cringing, Danny did have ghost powers, and was completely capable of such a feat, but this fact did not make her opinion waver. She knows her brother is secretly a hero saving them all from ghostly terrors, and is still determined to defend her brother. "But Mr. Mr. Lancer, you still have no proof Danny took the test answers."

Mr. Mr. Lancer signed, but agreed all the same. "Fair enough. He has up until the test to return the answers. But if he cheats, I won't just fail him. I'll destroy his future."

Jazz bit her lip, hoping and praying to her lucky stars that she was right about Danny being innocent. _'It can't be him.'_ She thought. _'He's the good guy.'_

Still even good guys make mistakes.

' _But not Danny!'_ Jazz argued with herself. _'And I'm going to prove it!'_ And with that final thought she march off in the direction of home; determined to prove it!

* * *

 **(Back in the air, Danny is still chasing Skulktech…)**

"What are you waiting for?" Skulker asked, as they flew around out of control. "Activate the Purple back Gorilla Override!"

"Don't tell me how to do my job!" Technus snapped.

Danny zaps them with an ectoblast, and they fall from the sky to crash into the ruin of the Nasty Burger right beside the heating element which shows the meter inching higher.

They imminently get back up, and attack the boy with their own new technique

"Activating Phantom Palm Pummeler!" Technus stated. Their hand opens, sending out a blueish-white ray that catches Danny and knocks him off course, smoking. It hits him again and he reverts to human form. He falls a short way before going back to ghost form.

Danny's eyes widen as he realizes the truth. "You're shorting out my powers?!"

"Indeed." Skulker confirmed his suspicions "Pummeler might not work on you in the future, but we had a feeling it would work on you here."

"The Future?" Danny asked, obviously confused.

Technus laughed. "Oh, I love it. You're much less powerful than that other Phantom we have to deal with!" He exclaimed hitting him with a third blast turning him human once more.

"What are you two talking aboooou Aaah!" He exclaims, falling, only to catch himself one-handed on a flagpole. Danny looks up, shocked "Wow. That flagpole thing works? I thought for sure it would-" He gasped as the pole snaps "breeaaaak!" He shouts falling and bounces off an awning into a pile of trash bags. "Guess I don't have a future as an Olympic gymnast." He realized out loud.

An arm snakes through the pile and grabs him around the middle, zapping him.

Danny screams and it slams him to the ground.

"You don't have a future, period!" Skulker hissed. "Not anymore!"

"I wouldn't bet on that." Tucker said, cutting in as he ran his override program on his PDA. A red laser hits Skulktech and they short out, falling. As they fall they catch themselves on a flagpole.

"Aw, poo." They say. "Wow, that flagpole thing—" They never finish for the pole snaps and they fall, crashing and landing doubled over a lamppost.

"Way to go, guys!" Danny cheerers while still trapped in the cuffed arm.

Sam sighs. "Come on, Tucker, let's see if we can get this off!" She grabs the cuff and Tucker grabs Sam as they try to wrench it open.

"You might want to hide for this part." Clockwork admitted to the Observers as they continued to watch the events playing out on the rifts.

"What for?" Melk asked.

"Just trust me." Clockwork insisted.

"Very well." Klem agreed, but they didn't look happy about it.

Once they were hidden Clockwork hid in the shadows himself and then snapped his fingers.

Suddenly Skulktech's medallion falls off and falls to the ground, the three friends start to glow blueish-white.

The glow races along the arm, enveloping the trio, and Skulktech.

Seconds later they all vanish!

The Time Rifts in Clockworks tower begin to show swirls of green, and gears tick and turn everywhere. One rift blazes, and Skulktech and the trio are thrown through it to land on the floor.

The cuff springs open.

Danny stretches his back, happy to finally be free.

Tucker looked around in awe. "Where are we?" He asked.

The three wander around the tower, looking up into the gear-ridden darkness. They approach a window with a clock face embedded in it.

"I don't know." Danny answered. "The Ghost Zone, I think. But...no part of the Ghost Zone I've ever seen."

"It happened right after his medallion fell off." Sam realized.

"Then I think I know how to get us back!" Tucker said seeing a box on the wall, where six more of the medallions hang. Tucker seizes one and puts it around his neck. Pumping his arms triumphantly he says, "Haha!" But nothing happens.

Looking around, Tucker drops his hands in defeat. "Nothing, huh?" he asked.

"No, but nice bling." She teased before going to take a closer look at one of the rifts.

It's the future time rift, which begins to show Danny's Dark future.

Danny looks more closely at Tucker's medallion. "I don't like this." He admitted.

"You're going to like this even less." Sam said, ushering them over.

The boys join Sam at the rift, where Dark Dan is laughing and throwing ecto-blasts at screaming people and buildings, then laughing. A label on the rift reads FUTURE: 10 YEARS.

"I think I'm seeing your future." Sam told Danny. "And you're kind of a jerk."

On the rift, tanks, helicopters, and police cars approach Dark Dan. He easily dispatches the lot of them with his Ghostly Wail.

Sam looks aghast. "Ok, you're really a jerk." She corrected herself.

Danny pushes Sam out of the way. "Wow, what is that?" He asked all excited, as he witnessed Dark Dan's latest new power. "Some kind of ghostly wail? What a cool power!"

Sam and Tucker give him a cross look.

Danny backtracks quickly "...If it weren't being used for evil!"

Tucker turns to Skulktech and clicking on his PDA. "Let's see if this future boy knows any more about—"

Glowing blueish-white, Skulktech suddenly rises and flies back into the future rift.

"I didn't do that." He admits.

"No, I did." Clockwork says, finally coming out of hiding.

The trio all look up as adult Clockwork descends from the darkness.

"I sent him back to his own time." Clockwork explained, switching to elderly version. "Or, should I say, forward to his own time. You see, for me, time moves backwards and forwards, and—" He pauses realizing the blank expression of his audience, and sighs. "Oh, why am I bothering? You're fourteen." He said remembering how Future Valerie had said a 14 year old teen doesn't really understand the connections of the time stream, and how their actions effect it.

"Who are you?" Danny asked. "Where are we?"

Clockwork's brow rose. "Introductions?" He asked. "Fine. I am Clockwork, Master of Time." He explained. "I've been charged with the task of eliminating your future, so that-" He says pointing at the future time rift "Never happens."

In the rift, Dark Danny picks up a tank and throws it, then tosses a few more ecto-blasts around.

"You've got to be kidding me." Danny snapped. "Name one evil thing I've done!"

Smiling, an adult Clockwork points his staff at the present day time rift. In it, we see Jazz pulling the C.A.T. answer packet out of Danny's backpack and gasping, "Danny is a cheater!"

"Bet you can't find two!" Tucker challenged.

In the rift, a sobbing Jazz turns into Dark Danny standing triumphantly over the wreckage of a city street, decorated liberally with fallen helicopters.

"How about two thousand?" Clockwork asked switches to his child form.

"I don't have to sit here and explain myself to you!" Danny shouted. "I'm going ghost!" He does so, and flies at adult Clockwork.

Clockwork smiles and says. "Time out!" He then points his now-glowing staff at Danny, who slows and freezes in place just short of it, then rewinds to fly backward, land, and return to his human form. Clockwork then allows time to play forward once more.

"I'm going ghost!" Danny said, only to freeze. "—Whoa serious Déjà vu." He admits putting his hand to his head. He shakes it off, and goes ghost once more before flying back at Clockwork again.

Clockwork punches button on his staff again, grinning. "Time out!" Danny slows way down, and Clockwork swoops off to the side; Danny watches him go. "Time in!"

Danny resumes normal speed, his momentum carrying him through the spot Clockwork previously occupied and slamming him into the clock tower bell.

Clockwork then rewinds and forwards him through colliding with the bell several times. "I could do this all day." He admitted, changing back to his elderly form. "But I have a schedule to keep." He said remembering to keep his meddling short and sweet. With that said he presses the button one last time, and Danny crashes to the ground. Above, Clockwork pulls a scythe from the hands of a reaper statue and swoops down.

"Danny! Look out!" Tucker, and Sam say together.

Danny zips out of the way and the scythe comes down on a gear, shattering it. Clockwork shakes his head and freezes him in midair. Then looming over Danny with the scythe he goes to swing his death down on to the young halfa. Of course Clockwork has no real intention of killing the boy, this is merely a ruse to keep the Observants from discovering his real motives. "Times up Ghost Boy." He declared for dramatic effect.

Over to the side, Sam is also frozen in the act of gasping, but Tucker is unaffected.

"Hey, wait! Why would he freeze time for Danny and not for us?" Tucker asked, only to turn and notice Sam too is frozen. He waves his hand in her face. "Sam?" _'How come I'm not affected?'_ He wondered. Then he gasped and remembered his medallion, he looks down at it, grinning to himself. "I knew these medallions were good for something. It's like a Get out of Time Free card!" He then runs and grabs a pair of medallions from the wall.

Tucker then races over and snatches the scythe from Clockwork's grasp.

"Sorry, no sudden death overtime in this game!" Tucker declares before throwing the medallions to the right and left. The first one lands around Sam's neck; she blinks then assumes a fighting stance. The second one lands around Danny's and he abruptly resumes his flight trajectory.

"Huh? What happened?" He asked landing in between Tucker and Sam.

Sam held up her medallion knowingly. "We leveled the playing field." She explained to him. Now just get the bad guy!"

Clockwork scowls in fake anger in order to keep up the charade. "You three have seen too much. You must be eliminated before you permanently alter the time stream." He said darkly as five ghost soldiers from different eras appear one by one, fully armed.

The trio gasps as the ghost soldiers surround them with no way out.

"Nowhere to run, children." Clockwork muses.

Danny looks all around him seeing his words to be true that is until he see the Future time rift behind him. Suddenly he has an idea. "Nowhere but the future!" He cried before grabbing Sam and Tucker, and jumping into the rift.

Clockwork smiles darkly, shifting into his child form.

"Then let's see if you have what it takes to face that future…"


	13. Questions, and Answers

**Author's Notes:** This is just a chapter where I explain some of your questions in you reviews. Now all of these questions come mostly from DireWolfEmily, and Invader Jonny from their review of this story so far. With that said if you have any questions that you would like to ask about. Something that doesn't make since, are any theory's you may have so far about my story so far, or in the future please leave a review and ask about it, and I will contribute another Q/A Chapter.

BTW I will be doing these kind of chapters throughout the series since we are dealing with a time Paradox series, with some pretty big surprises and changes in store for you. Which I know for a fact will lead to some pretty big questions.

But any ways back to the current questions at hand. Let's get started!

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Questions, and Answers**

 **First Question!**

 _-The first two questions will be focusing on Invader Johnny's Questions about_ _Time Paradox Part 1_ _thus far.-_

 **Q:** Now it makes me wonder whether Clockwork's actions in previous chapters were a ruse and if so, for what purpose?

 **A:** This is actually a very good point to bring up. If you remember correctly Clockwork supposable knows all and sees all that may or not may happen throughout time. If this is true then Clockwork knows that he will one day change his mind about not Changing Danny's future.

So why all the drama? Why does he stay stubborn to the very end? Is it a Ruse? Is he trying to teach the Observants a lesson about picking and choosing when to follow their own rules?

The answer is a big fat no! Why? Well there is actually 2 main points that disprove this theory.

 **1:** If you remember correctly all the ghost in the Ghost Zone were once alive. This is explained by the fact that the Dairy King who once lived in Vlad's castle before him, actually haunts the very halls of the manor! This is also explained when Danny reveals to Vlad's mutated ghost animal minions that they should be against Vlad not him. Since Vlad decorated his walls with their pelts.

With this in mind we can assume Clockwork was once human, and was not born with the powers to alter time. (Though that would be pretty cool if he had.) This fact is proven since he uses his staff to actually pause, fast forward and rewind time. And Medallions to allow others to wonder in the past, present, and future. While the rifts actually show him what is to come. With that said if Clockwork had the rifts off since the Nasty Berger explosion. Then he really couldn't know what happens next in less he looked ahead at a previous time. Which we can assume he did since he knew why Valerie had come to see him in the future.

With that said this second point proves why this theory is seriously flawed.

 **2:** You have to remember Clockwork was once human and since he was once human, Clockwork has his share of flaws, and while the ghost are dead they seem to still have some emotions. Like anger, rage, and the longing for Revenge, friendship, and idolization. So no Clockwork isn't teaching the Observants a lesson, he really is bitter about how they have been misusing him and his power, and is out for revenge!

He has lost faith and all ghosts and humans, and believes Fate is sending them down a dark path on purpose, because they all really deserve it. And even though he knows he will eventually find new hope in both races thanks to Valerie he is still unmoved. Kind of like some of us humans who know their wrong about something, but still chooses to fell strongly about their beliefs regardless of the facts.

 _-Invader Johnny I hope this clears up your confusion, because in all reality I seriously planned for Clockwork to be a bitter Jerk who has lost faith in everyone which is why he lets everything play out the way it does no matter how horrible it is. –_

* * *

 **Next Question!**

- _Invader Johnny's next question actually ties into DireWolfEmily's only head scratching question so far, but since hers is more in depth I will focused on Invader Johnny's first.-_

 **Q:** Umm... Dark Danny feels vindicated, umm I wasn't expecting that, I only believed he felt anger and rage, ya know?

 **A:** This is a good point Johnny but what you may not know is this idea was very popular in Fan fiction during the time after the episode The Ultimate Enemy was release.

Now for those of you who don't know what Invader Johnny is referring to, I'll explain. When Dark Dan is separated from his human half he still shows some human kind of emotions but only the negative ones like the urge to show or prove his actions to be right, reasonable, or justified. Which happens to be the very definition of Vindication. Now remember Vlad's original plan was to rip all emotion out of Danny, not separate him from his ghost half. So there for we can assume Vlad did not succeed in making him emotionless!

So when Dark Dan claims in the original series of Danny Phantom that he gave up all his human emotions long ago this is actually a big fat lie! How? You might ask? Several reason come to mind.

 **1:** As you come to discover by watching the show not all ghost are evil. Some like the Dairy King, Clockwork, and Frostbite (A winter king of yeti like creatures). Are actually good, and help Danny better understand himself, and how to control his powers and his uncertain future. So no Dark Dan cannot just be angry, and full of rage for no reason, because if he was, then all ghost would be this way too.

 **2:** Besides the ghost in the Ghost Zone do have some positive emotions; for example love. There are a lot of star cross lovers in the Ghost Zone with only a few of them being for self-gain. Some examples? Ember McLain and Skulker are actually in a relationship. This is proven in "Lucky in Love" the sixteenth episode of the series.

And Skulker proves it's more than personal gain. How? When Ember hurts his feelings by saying he's a terrible ghost hunter, and then breaks up with him. This prompts him to hunt and finally kill Danny to prove her wrong. Now if he really didn't care about her opinion like a lover really would, he would not go through so much trouble to kill Danny and prove her wrong just so Ember will take him back. Now if it was just an ego thing he would not want to get back together with someone who purposely busied his ego. He also wouldn't carry a picture of her around with him like some love sick puppy.

Some other examples, Are Kitty, and Johnny 13, or the future Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost. None of these seem to have personal gain in mind. in fact the only personal gain relationship I can think of is between Penelope Spectra, and her assistant Bertrand who first appears in "My Brother's Keeper" where they feed off of the kid's misery while pretending to be councilors for high school youths. They obviously have something going on, but Spectra is the only one with the power to draw out the misery from the teens and use it to make her younger.

This means Bertrand is feeding off of her to stay young too since it is revealed in the episode that they both use Misery in hopes to stay young forever.

So when Dark Dan says he's emotionless he's lying, he just wants to appear like an unreasonable monster. Which is possibly a front to insure that he is never hurt again, by anyone or anything.

 **Finally 3:** If you remember correctly Danny seeks Vlad's help for the sole reasons of forgetting the pain and suffering he felt from the loss of his family. But something goes wrong! He's only separated from his human half, freeing him from all emotion. Or so he tells himself, but we soon learn he feels things like weakness, and uncertainty about his own abilities. Without his human self to hide behind Dark Dan admits to feel exposed, and weak without it. This prompts him to separate Vlad from his ghost half so he can fuse with it. So that he feels more confident in himself thanks to Vlad's power and 20 some odd years of experience.

This fusion explains why Dark Danny seems to be heartless, and emotionless. If you remember the episode The Ultimate Enemy, Dark Dan's personality is almost identical Vlad's. In fact some say Dark Dan's personality betrays what Vlad would have been like if he wasn't a crazy fruitloop obsessing over Danny's mom all the time. Both ghost are evil, heavily sarcastic and imagine a future where they rule as the greatest super power. With all that said Dark Dan is bitter, and angry at the world for a reason Just as Vlad was.

Vlad was angry because becoming a half ghost robbed him of the life he thought he rightfully disserved. He felt vindicated! Similarly Dark Dan wants his once fellow humans to suffer the way he did. He wants this because of how wrongly everyone treated him, and blamed him for the deaths of his family, friends, and teacher. And even though this is only explained in my story it's hinted at in the real series.

How?

Come on people Danny would not go to Vlad, before considering living with his Mother's sister in Texas, who BTW was a real character in in the show! She first appears in "Prisoners of Love." Where Jack forgets his anniversary, and Maddie runs away to her sister's to get away from it all while she helps plan a surprise celebrating her sister's divorce.

Furthermore Danny hates Vlad, and would rather chew off his own limbs then live with him. With that said we can assume that everyone, including his Aunt discover the truth of the disaster and rejected him, and ridiculed him; prompting him to turn to Vlad, as "The last person who could ever hope to understand him."

Ironically even though Vlad did not intend to create Dark Dan he still ended up getting his successor. If you remember correctly Vlad wanted Danny to denounce his father, and become his apprentice, so he could follow in his foots steps, and gain all his, KNOWLEDGE, WEALTH AND POWER! And in a way Dark Dan does all these things.

Just a little something to think about.

 _-Invader Johnny I hope this answers your question, Yes Dark Dan has emotions, he's not some savage beast pumped up on rage and anger all the time, and he does fell like he's justified in the way that he's treating the world that was once his home.–_

* * *

 **Last Question!**

 _-Like I mentioned in the previous question, DireWolfEmily has a very similar question to Invader Johnny, it's just more in depth. Here it is…-_

 **Q:** Is it just me? Or are all these moments of insanity for Danny actually your way of making us feel sorry for Dark Dan? I mean you actually humanize Dark Dan's reasoning for going evil once his human sides is removed. Instead of him being a mindless evil ghost, he's just trying to insure that he's never too weak to get hurt again. You're vindicating him! Which makes me think you're foreshadowing the fact that while Danny's evil future self still exists in this alternate future, he may not stay evil later on in this trilogy.

Are you writing a story about Dark Dan's Redemption?

 **A:** Wow that's a very deeply thought out question, and I'll try to answer it the best I can without giving away any spoilers to any readers. For starters like I said before Humanizing and Vindicating Dark Dan was an idea that was very popular in Fan fiction during the time after the episode The Ultimate Enemy was release.

For example in several Fanfics Dark Dan's reason for killing his human self is explained as a crime of passion! Not because he is a heartless emotionless blood thirsty monster. And since I've already proven without a doubt that Dark Dan being emotionless is clearly impossible due to the way other ghost act in the show this theory actually holds a lot of ground. So how is it a crime of Passion? Think about it, who do you know better than your own self? We say we love people more than ourselves, but let's be honest humans are selfish, and self-centered more than some of the time.

Dark Dan kills His human-self solely because he reminded him of his weak pathetic life of pain, and human emotions.

This is actually a very common reason for murder today. A woman who has loved her husband all her life kills him after he cheats on her in a jealous rage, but soon admit after the fact that they still love their husband. And that they killed them because looking at them every day after they found out about the affair only made their feels of betrayal feel stronger, and the pain cut deeper.

Also Dark Dan doesn't just kill him, he drawls it out, and puts a lot of rage, and emotion into every blow. Much like real crimes of passion which are more likely to be performed with several blows by blunt objects, or many stabbings of knives. If Dark Dan really was emotionless, and didn't care about his past life he would have simply ended his human self quickly.

And even thought the kid show never shows the murder, Vlad's vague description of what happened to Dark Dan's human self does not leave much up the human imagination. When Present day Danny asked him what happened to his human side in the future Vlad simply states. "Some things, my boy, are better left unsaid."

We then see a flash back of Vlad's showing the human Danny shaking in fear as Dark Dan advances. So because of this we can assume the older full human Vlad witnessed something horrible, something that was not quick in the slightest.

Furthermore even if Dark Dan was emotionless he would still remember how he felt as a human. Since the ghost seem to remember their lives before they died. This would prompt Dark Dan to get rid of the visual reminder of all his pain.

So yes, I am Humanizing, and Vindicating Dark Dan, but I'm not the only one who does it, and Dark Dan isn't the only evil ghost who is vindicated in the actual series as well as Fan fiction stories all over the web.

According to the series prior to becoming a ghost, Desiree (The wish granting ghost) was a harem girl who won the heart of a sultan. He promised to grant her all of her heart's desires and even a kingdom of her very own. However, she was cast away from the palace by the sultan's jealous wife. Dying of a broken heart and old age, Desiree wandered around as a ghost, forever granting others' wishes. However, if you haven't noticed the wishes are anything but pleasant which hints at the fact that Desiree is sickly twisting everyone's desires in order to insure that they get their hopes up only to be crushed just as she had been. And feels no remorse for her reactions, and tries to justify her actions.

This is the exact definition of vindication! She's been wronged, and feels justified in making others feel the same way she did.

Another Vindicated ghost is Ember McLain, though her past is never revealed in the series. Due to the words of her song it is popular belief that her drive for idolization was due to a broken heart. According to Several Fan fiction stories when alive Ember was a young freshmen who fell in love with an older boy in his senior year. They dated throughout her ninth grade school year, but when he graduated Ember never hears from him again. She basically puts her life on hold for two whole weeks waiting for him to call her.

Only to find out that by accident later on that he's moved on, and started dating a much older than him, collage girl behind her back. Ember ends the relationship, and though he ex does not appear crushed by the break up, she vows that he will never forget her name. After this Ember goes from super preppy prom queen to Goth, buys a guitar, and becomes a singing sensation almost overnight. And Fan's sate that her hit song: You Will Remember My Name, is actually her singing to her ex that now that she's a rich pop star he will never forget her name, and neither will anyone else.

It also is a reminder to herself that she will never forget the pain he caused her.

Later when Ember dies she becomes obsessed with being known, and idolized. It makes her more powerful, but she uses that power to influence the minds of others. Why? Because she thinks she deserves love, but feels like no one will love her willingly thanks to her ex.

All of this can be backed up by the Ember's song who'd full version was actually release to the public. Here are the lyrics:

 _Yeah, Oooooooo_

 _It was, it was September, Wind blow, the dead leaves fall. To you, I did surrender, Two weeks you didn't call._

 _Your life goes on without me, my life, a losing game. But you should, you should not doubt me, you will remember my name._

 _[Chorus:]_

 _OH Ember, you will remember. Ember, one thing remains, OH Ember, so warm and tender, you will remember my name. Your heart, your heart has rendered, your loss, now bare the shame._

 _Like dead trees, in cold December, Nothing but ashes remain. [Chorus x2]_

\- So yes, Emily I am Vindicating Dark Dan, and Humanizing him. But this is nothing new Danny phantom is known for making ghost seem less scary, and more human like then most ghost series.

As for your other question I will not confirm, or deny if this is a redemption story for Dark Dan, but I can see where you have drawn that conclusion. Dark Dan states he hasn't evaporated into nothing because he still exists in the future, and yet Clockwork, and the Observants no longer seem to fear his existence.

This does make you wonder why?

Is it because Dark Dan Changes for the better? Who knows? We never find out since Danny Phantom was cancel, but whether or not it will play out this way in my story is yet to be seen. So sorry Em, you'll just have to wait and find out. But I'm sure you're not the only one wondering the same thing.

* * *

 **End Notes:** Well that all the Q/A for now, but please if you have any questions do not be afraid to ask. I wrote this story planning to receive many questions since it's about time paradoxes, a very old show, and my own personal perception of that show and its characters. So please ask away, because the questions are for you, I already understand completely what is going on in my head, this is so that you can better understand the story plot and its characters.

Thanks for reading and please review.

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine :)


	14. Blast from the PAST?

**Author's Notes:** Back to the story! Please enjoy, and please review.

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Blast from the PAST?**

 **(Back with Danny and the gang…)**

 **[Time Frame: 10 years into the future]**

 **{Location: The ruins of Amity Park}**

The future…

Even Sam herself never imagined it this grim and unpleasant.

The trio looked around uneasily.

"Man." Tucker sighs. "If this is what we have to look forward to, I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T. test."

"How do you think this all happened?" Sam asked, looking around in defeat. _'How could Danny's life get so messed up?'_ She wondered _. 'Sure he's not perfect but...'_ She stopped, looking at Danny thoughtfully. _'…Who is?'_

Danny floats around still in his ghost form. "I don't know. But based on what we just saw, I have a really bad feeling I'm the one responsible."

"Got that right, ghost!"

Suddenly An Older Valerie springs out of the wreckage on her jets-led, powering up a huge shoulder-mounted blaster. She fires, the kickback knocking her back a little. The blast impacts the street right in front of Danny, blowing the street apart. Danny retreats into the street, then rises back up through it intangibly to face off against Valerie.

But he doesn't want to fight her.

"Valerie! Wait! Listen to me!" He begged.

Valerie turns a deaf ear. _'He's just messing with me again, trying to make me suffer. Trying to make me hesitate._ ' She told herself. _'But it won't work this time.'_ She wavers, but only slightly. _'That's Danny, No! It can't be, and even if it is I have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.'_

"You can't fool me this time, Phantom!" She fires again and he takes a flying dodge. She fires a few more blasts then chases after, jumping into the air and letting the board continue on its own.

Danny loops back around, just barely misses getting beaned by the jet-sled, and gets caught in an electrified purple net which drops him to the ground. Valerie lands nearby and trains her blaster at him, powering it up with a whine.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time." She said. But these words are only half true, she never blamed Danny for any of this. This monster was not the Danny she knew, and there for in her mind this was not Danny.

This was not her Danny!

With that thought she goes to pull the trigger. "And good rid-"

Tucker and Sam suddenly jump in front of Danny, shielding him.

"Valerie, no! Don't shoot!" They declare.

Valerie's eyes widen, and she rears back in shock. "Sam? Tucker? I-It's not possible! This is a trick! You can't be alive!"

"Wait. Not alive?" Tucker drops his arms in shock. "That's our future? I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T.!"

"The C.A.T." Valerie gasped. "That's the last time I saw you alive. The explosion at the Nasty Burger...you, Tucker, Danny's family—" Suddenly she trains the gun on Danny again. "And it was all your fault!" She screams going to fire again.

However a green flash of flame knocks Valerie off her jet-sled, and into some rubble. The trio look up to the source to find Dark Dan floating there.

"Actually, that was me." He admitted. "And you, eventually." He said looking down at the still trapped Danny. He then lands before his old childhood friends. "Sam and Tucker. It's been a while." He says almost kind heartedly. "Ten years, to be accurate." He raises a hand, he sweeps it down, and Sam and Tucker are encased, motionless, is green light. "So, to what do I owe this little blast from the past?" His eyes widen as he notices Sam's CW medallion.

Suddenly images flash across his mind. He was flying towards Valerie and an old looking ghost in purple robes.

"Not so fast!" he declared. "You're not taking my future away from me!" he lunged for the robed ghost.

"No!" Valerie panicked, and stepped in front his target protectively.

"There is no need to protect Me." the robed ghost said.

"But he-!" Valerie began.

"Here wear this." the robed ghost then places a gearshift shaped medallion around her neck.

Dark Dan had just enough time to take in the piece of jewelry, there was nothing special about it only that I bared the initials CW. "How's some petty trinket supposed to save her!" he declared still coming at full speed.

"Like this." the robed ghost said, punching the button up top his staff. "Time Out!"

Dark Dan frowned as he shook his head. What was that? A memory? He didn't remember these events happening, but they were so vivid. He looked at the medallion again. _'CW?'_ He wondered, _'Who?'_ Then his eyes widen once more. "Clockwork!" he whispered.

He begins to raise his arm, but a purple blast from somewhere to his right, knocks him into the street. As he stumbles up and waves the smoke away he see Valerie, blowing the smoke from a wrist-mounted weapon, a grenade in her other hand. Scowling, he gets to his feet and charges. Valerie throws a pair of grenades at him, but he transforms to a green, blobby form and they pass right through him. She fires her wrist gun, but he is too fast and grabs her by both wrists.

Meanwhile, Danny is struggling to get free. _'I have to save her.'_ He thought. And bursts from the net with a cry.

Dark Dan lifts Valerie with one hand and punches her with the other, sending her bouncing off the pavement. He follows as she props herself on one hand and one elbow.

"Valerie!" Danny flies and catches Valerie around the middle, making them fly intangibly through a few buildings before crash-landing in the street on the other side in a tangle.

Valerie looks at him stunned, and realizes something. _'This can't be a duplicate sent by Dark Dan to confuse me, Dark Dan wouldn't save me from himself. In less…'_ Valerie notices the gear shape medallion around his neck, and the same memory as Dark Dan's flashes before her mind. _'Clockwork?'_ She smiles. "You're from the past, aren't you?"

Danny gets to his feet, stunned that she's figured out this information on her own.

"I almost forgot how cute you were back then." She admits, before slumping back on the ground, knocked out cold.

"You thought I was cute?" Danny asked shocked. "Wow! An older woman likes me."

Dark Dan looks to his former frozen friends still trapped in the green light with a look of distain. "You know, if I had an ounce of humanity left in me, this would be a touching little reunion. But of course I surrendered my human emotions a long time ago."

Behind him, Danny rises invisibly from the street, teeth gritted and fists clenched.

Dark Dan's ghost sense goes off as tendrils of red smoke coming from his nostrils. "Oh, please." He whispers. He turns and punches an ectoblast at Danny, who returns the favor.

Both are knocked down by the other's blast, and the green light trapping Tucker and Sam vanishes, dropping them to the street as well.

Danny sits up, panicked. "Tucker! Sam! Run!" He orders.

They do.

Dark Dan scoffs getting back to his feet. "Run? Where are they going to go?" He asked the obvious. Turning, he lets out a Ghostly Wail. Danny covers his ears. Tucker and Sam stop, looking up at the FentonWorks next to them. The brick begins to crumble, the Op Center tilting from the top.

' _It's going to crush them.'_ Danny realizes, and gets to his feet in hopes of saving them in time. But as he flies to their rescue Dark Dan grabs him by the ankle. "Ah-ah-ah." He mused.

Danny gasps as the FentonWorks falls over on top of Tucker and Sam, throwing up a cloud of dust. Danny stares in shock for a moment, then cries out as Dark Dan shocks him with energy causing him to revert back to his human form. Then Dark Dan spins and throws him toward the wreckage.

Getting up on his elbows, he sees the two time medallions Tucker and Sam had been wearing are now lying abandoned on the ground. "They took off their time medallions!" He realized in relief, getting to his feet he grabs the medallions. "That returned them to their time period just like Box Lunch and Skulktech! Tucker and Sam made it out alive! Which means I can—" He goes to take off his own, but Dark Dan seizes his arm.

"Why go back for them?"

Danny cries out as Dark Dan lifts him into the air.

"They're doomed anyway. And you aren't going anywhere if you can't remove your time medallion." Dark Dan reasons. Suddenly His hand glows green. Ripping off Danny's time medallion, he makes it intangible and sticks it inside Danny's chest, fusing it with his very being. Keeping him in this time frame forever.

"In fact, you aren't going anywhere at all." He vows.

"You won't win!" Danny declares, struggling in his hold. "I will never become you!"

Dark Dan growls and shocks Danny once more.

Danny screams then slumps, before becoming unconscious.

"Yes you will." Dark Dan Vowed, as he picked up one of the other two time medallions. "And I'll make sure of it…"

* * *

 **(Back to present day with Tucker, and Sam…)**

In the alley beside the Nasty Burger, Sam and Tucker appear in a flash of light. The still-live heating element and tanks of Nasty Sauce are visible.

Tucker is on his knees, still shielding his head, screaming. Sam crosses her arms and frowns at him. He looks up, surprised. "You got the medallions off, didn't you."

"I don't accessorize well." Sam said confirming his suspicions. "Unfortunately, Danny's still stuck in the future fighting his jerky older self! We've got to help him!"

"Tucker? Sam?" The two freeze as Jazz suddenly appears. "You got a second?"

The two look at her unsure while preparing to make a run for it.

"Let me answer that for you. Yes, you do." Jazz said, blocking their paths. She had been looking all over for Danny since she found the answers to the CAT in his bag. And now she finally found them. And even if Danny wasn't with them Jazz was going to talk since hearing it from his friends might actually make him want to come clean. Probably more so then hearing it from his nagging older sister. "Look I know Danny stole the answers to the C.A.T. That he's going to cheat!

"Actually, Danny wasn't going to—" Sam began to defend him, but Jazz stops her.

"Sam, enough. I know more than you think I do. A lot more." She admitted. "So I suggest when you see Danny, you tell him I wanna talk to him. Tonight! Because if I don't, I will be talking to our parents and Mr. Lancer tomorrow." She stomps off then disgusted. _'They knew he was going to cheat, they knew he had the answers and did nothing to turn him in or try to stop him.'_ She shook her head. _'Honestly I thought these guys where better.'_

Sam looks stunned. "Lancer knows Danny has the answers?" She gasped.

"Oh, man, is he in trouble." Tucker realized.

That's got to be it." Sam said. "Danny cheating is the thing that leads to that horrible future!"

Tucker shook his head finding this hard to believe. "Let me get this straight. Danny gets caught cheating on a test, and we pay for it with our lives? How is that fair?"

"I don't know." Sam said, "But we have to find him, and warn him."

"But how?" Tucker asked. "He's still stuck in the future."

"Maybe he isn't." Sam said looking around. "We reappeared closely where we last where in this time line." She told him. "We stopped Skulktech around the Nasty Burger.

"So you think Danny's around here to, just not with us because we didn't disappear from this alley?"

"Maybe." Sam said. "It's the only theory I got."

"Then let's go see if we can find him." Tucker said, before the two friends set off to look for Danny.

* * *

 **(Back to Clockwork who is watching Dark Dan in the future…)**

This was important,

This single moment could ruin his efforts all together.

Clockwork watched dark Dan within the future time rift with much interest, knowing full well if he got distracted now it could hall be over.

Dark Dan drops his past self in disgust, resisting the urge to tear him apart, but only just barely. _'If I kill him now I will cease to exist.'_ He reminds himself, deciding to get from difference from the boy. He walks around to the other side of some nearby rubble thinking to himself as he goes. _'I can't believe that hooded time wiz actually had the nerve to meddle with my future.'_ He looks back down at the medallion in his hand. _'I can fix this.'_ He realized. _'If I put this on it might teleport me to the time frame opposite of my own.'_

It was strange how he could know this, he never fiddled with time travel before, or he hadn't originally. However now that the past had been changed, Some of Dark Dan's memories had altered too. For example, instead of fighting the Box ghost in the original fight that allowed him to get the test answers in the first place. Dark Dan now recalls it being Box Lunch, Skulktech has also replaced Skulker in his memories as well.

Dark Dan shook his head. "His meddling is changing everything, including my memories!" he whispered out loud. "I have to fix this-"

Clockwork focused immensely at the moment before him, knowing that at any moment Dark Dan's new realizations, and confused memories of him could prompt the dark phantom to turn the tables back in his favor.

The Observants watch Clockwork closely, they are becoming more and more suspicious of the ghost's actions.

Danny moans still lying on the ground, he opens his eyes A large stone statue comes into focus before him.

"Mom? Dad?" He whispers rolling to his knees. The statue is of the Fentons Mr. Lancer, Sam and Tucker, all smiling. An epigraph on the large pedestal reads "GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN". At this angle we also see that Danny's arms are bound to his torso with glowing green rope.

"Gone but not forgotten"? He whispers, He stands, realizing where he is, and that something is missing. "Where's the Nasty Burger?" He asked. He looks up at the wreck of the Nasty Burger, and gets his answer

It's been blown open, and the sign is fallen. Dark Dan walks around the corner of the building.

"Strange how, one massive fireball of highly combustible condiments can ruin your whole future." He mused/

"The time medallion?" Danny asked hopefully.

"Fused inside you." Dark Dan answered. "Nice, huh? Intangible and unreachable whether you're ghost or human which means...you can't go back in time."

"It doesn't matter if I go back in time or not." Danny shouted. "I'll never turn into you! Never!"

"You are altering the time line!" Melk realizes. "You're influencing his decisions."

"This is against the rules!" Klem hisses, jumping in front of the time master, blocking his view.

Dark Dan smiles, and alters his appearance to that of his 14 human-self before placing the medallion around his neck. "Of course you will, it's only a matter of time." He suddenly disappears, leaving Danny alone in the future.

"You fool!" Clockwork exclaims, pushing Klem out of the way.

"You altered Time that is forbidden!" Melk shouted.

"For me? But not for you." Clockwork asked. "You Observants are hypocrite, forcing me to change the things you do not approve of, but no longer." He vowed. "For now on I say when and how I use my power!"

"We gave you that power, and we can take it away!" Klem warned.

Clockwork's eyes narrowed. "TRY IT I DARE YOU!"

But the two Observants make no move to take his staff.

"Though not." Clockwork scoffed, calming down a bit. Then he looks back at the rift to see young Danny alone in the future. He then sees another young Danny appear in the present day rift, Clockwork realizes in an instant what has happened. "You idiot! Now He's in the past!"

"Where he belongs." Melk hissed.

"No that's not the boy!" Clockwork shouted. "That is!" He says pointing at the future rift. "The other one is his future-self who's about to undo all my work."

"Good that means he'll set things right." Melk snapped.

"You mean to the future you just beg me to stop only 2 days ago?" Clockwork pointed out.

The Observants exchange an anxious look.

Clockwork shakes his head. "You two are unbelievable." He mumbled. "Just stay out of my way while I Try to fix this."

"Can't you just rewind time from before I intervened." Klem asked, now seeming to be on board with this.

"I could." Clockwork agreed. "But I really hate repeating myself.

Melk laughed. "Father Time afraid of an endless lop?" He asked. "Well then maybe you shouldn't have started this." He pointed out. "You know how determined Dark Dan is to keep this dark future, and now that his Deja vu has triggered his alternate memories of you he will never forget you meddled in the first place, and he will always try to undue whatever work you've done."

"You've created a time Paradox!" Klem said, who now seemed to be back on the other observer's side. "This struggle will never end!"

"I know what I am doing." Clockwork says, now let me focus." He causes the present day rift to fast forward so that he may see the events of the time line without his meddling.

He frowns as Dark Dan simply recalls every things that happened in the original time line. He reunites with Sam, and tucker who believes his lies that he has shut off the Nasty Burger heating element, and defeated his jerky future-self. He then pretends to be the perfect Danny as he hangs out with his friends all day.

He then comes home late to argue with Jazz in the basement as he originally did. He then cheats on the test the next day, and everyone still ends up by the Nasty Burger seconds before it explodes.

"It's no good." Clockwork admits, as the time rift stops fast forwarding, and begins to move in real time. "He's fixed it."

The Observants watch as Dark Dan still disguised as Danny drags his feet to the Fenton RV. "Way to go Fenton." He said, mocking the words he said so long ago. "You really blew it this time." He laughed.

The explosion lights up the rift!

"He's right you blew it!" Clockwork scowled. "Now I have to fix it!"

"This only proves our point." Melk hissed. "This loop will never end."

"Yes, we see that now." Klem agreed. "We never should have gotten you involved with this." He admitted. "We've learned our lesson, Altering time is bad, now let this play out as it is supposes to."

"NO!" Clockwork yelled.

"Why not!?" The two Observants asked as one.

"Because I'm not trying to teach you a lesson!" Clockwork explained. "I'm trying to teach him!" he says pointing to the present day Danny, who is still stuck in the future. "So that he will not become that!" he said pointing to Dark Dan who is laughing as the explosion rocks the world around him.

"That is not Fate's design." Melk argued, as if time is a true conscious force. "She and Dark Dan will fight to fix the time line. You think this will cause Daniel's Dark –self to disappear, and be replaced by a kinder more human version of him, but there is no way that will happen. Neither Time, nor Dark Dan will allow it."

"Just because they won't allow it, does not mean it will not happen." Clockwork Argued.

"Mark my words." Melk said. "No matter what you do Dark Dan will not change, or disappear. He will continue to exist, because Daniel like all humans have a dark side, and one Mistake can change him for the worse."

"Clockwork please listen to him." Klem begged. "Your intentions are noble." He admits. "But he is right, your chances of success are slim to none."

"I do not care." Clockwork said. "I made a promise to fix this, and to start using my powers to better both worlds, and I meant it." He raised his staff.

"Clockwork! Don't you dare!" Melk warned.

Clockwork ignored him and said. "Time Out!" Everything freezes and Clockwork steps into the present day rift.

Dark Dan looks around puzzled as everything freezes around him, but his cluelessness does not last long. "I know you're there." He says. "Show yourself Clockwork!"

Clockwork appears before him. "So I bet you think you have won this little game of ours." He said.

"Go ahead and press you little rewind button." Dark Dan laughed. "I'll just do it again, my younger-self is too weak to defeat me. And now that I've recalled the real time line I can fix this over and over again if I need to."

"You underestimate the abilities of you younger self, and my own." Clockwork told him. "Young Danny has overcome enemies much stronger then him before, and my power is far more in depth than just rewinding, pausing, and fast-forwarding time. Why I could manipulate your very thoughts if I wanted to. Making you take a different course of action then before."

"Do whatever you want." Dark Dan Says, looking unimpressed with this new found knowledge. "It won't make a difference in the end result."

"We'll see." Clockwork sates, before raising his staff once more, he presses the top button and says. "Rewind!"


	15. Here We Go AGAIN!

**Chapter 15: Here We Go Again**

Clockwork sighed and waved his staff once more, rewinding the world around him until, 14 year old Danny, and his friends stood before him once more. His soldiers surrounded them cornering them against the future rift.

 _'This Time I am leaving nothing to Chance!'_ he thought. _'I shall insure that he takes a different path.'_

And with that final though Clockwork said "Time In."

Suddenly the trio gasped as they noticed their current predicament.

"You three have seen too much." Clockwork scowled, but it was more out of annoyance for repeating himself, then actually concern for the informational leak. "You must be eliminated before you permanently alter the time stream." He said darkly as five ghost soldiers from different eras moved in for the kill.

"Nowhere to run, children." Clockwork muses.

Danny looks all around him seeing his words to be true that is until he see the Future time rift behind him. Suddenly he has an idea. "Nowhere but the future!" He cried before grabbing Sam and Tucker, and jumping into the rift.

Clockwork smiles darkly, shifting into his child form.

"Then let's see if you have what it takes to face that future…" He said. Eyes focusing on the future rift.

"Clockwork…" Melk began.

Clockwork turned around and with a wave of his staff he froze the two Observants. "You will not distract me again." He snapped.

In truth he should have seen the distraction coming, he should have looked ahead of the time stream, and realized Dark Dan's plans before the dark Phantom even thought of them himself, but he had not. Instead he had allowed his confidence to get in the way. However, this time he was leaving nothing to chance. He would influence Dark Dan's every decision if he had to.

Clockworks eyes narrowed. _'This time nothing can go wrong….'_

* * *

 **(Back with Danny and the gang…)**

 **[Time Frame: 10 years into the future]**

 **{Location: The ruins of Amity Park}**

The future…

It was far more unpleasant then even the gothic Sam would dare to imagen.

The trio looked around the desilt waste land uneasily.

"Man." Tucker sighs. "If this is what we have to look forward to, I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T. test."

"How do you think this all happened?" Sam asked, looking around in defeat. _'How could Danny's life get so messed up?'_ She wondered _. 'Sure he's not perfect but...'_ She stopped, looking at Danny thoughtfully. _'…Who is?'_

Danny floats around still in his ghost form. "I don't know. But based on what we just saw, I have a really bad feeling I'm the one responsible."

"Got that right, ghost!"

Suddenly An Older Valerie springs out of the wreckage on her jets-led, powering up a huge shoulder-mounted blaster. She fires, the kickback knocking her back a little. The blast impacts the street right in front of Danny, blowing the street apart. Danny retreats into the street, then rises back up through it intangibly to face off against Valerie.

But he doesn't want to fight her.

"Valerie! Wait! Listen to me!" He begged.

Valerie turns a deaf ear. _'He's just messing with me again, trying to make me suffer. Trying to make me hesitate._ ' She told herself. _'But it won't work this time.'_ She wavers, but only slightly. _'That's Danny, No! It can't be, and even if it is I have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.'_

"You can't fool me this time, Phantom!" She fires again and he takes a flying dodge. She fires a few more blasts then chases after, jumping into the air and letting the board continue on its own.

Danny loops back around, just barely misses getting beaned by the jet-sled, and gets caught in an electrified purple net which drops him to the ground. Valerie lands nearby and trains her blaster at him, powering it up with a whine.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time." She said. But these words are only half true, she never blamed Danny for any of this. This monster was not the Danny she knew, and there for in her mind this was not Danny.

This was not her Danny!

With that thought she goes to pull the trigger. "And good rid-"

Tucker and Sam suddenly jump in front of Danny, shielding him.

"Valerie, no! Don't shoot!" They declare.

Valerie's eyes widen, and she rears back in shock. "Sam? Tucker? I-It's not possible! This is a trick! You can't be alive!"

"Wait. Not alive?" Tucker drops his arms in shock. "That's our future? I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T.!"

"The C.A.T." Valerie gasped. "That's the last time I saw you alive. The explosion at the Nasty Burger...you, Tucker, Danny's family—" Suddenly she trains the gun on Danny again. "And it was all your fault!" She screams going to fire again.

However a green flash of flame knocks Valerie off her jet-sled, and into some rubble. The trio look up to the source to find Dark Dan floating there.

"Actually, that was me." He admitted. "And you, eventually." He said looking down at the still trapped Danny. He then lands before his old childhood friends. Sam and Tucker. It's been a while." He says almost kin heartedly. "Ten years, to be accurate." He raises a hand, he sweeps it down, and Sam and Tucker are encased, motionless, is green light. "So, to what do I owe this little blast from the past?" His eyes widen as he notices Sam's CW medallion.

Suddenly images flash across his mind. He was flying towards Valerie and an old looking ghost in purple robes.

"Not so fast!" he declared. "You're not taking my future away from me!" he lunged for the robed ghost.

"No!" Valerie panicked, and stepped in front his target protectively.

"There is no need to protect Me." the robed ghost said.

"But he-!" Valerie began.

"Here wear this." the robed ghost then places a gearshift shaped medallion around her neck.

Dark Dan had just enough time to take in the piece of jewelry, there was nothing special about it only that I bared the initials CW. "How's some petty trinket supposed to save her!" he declared still coming at full speed.

"Like this." the robed ghost said, punching the button up top his staff. "Time Out!"

Dark Dan frowned as he shook his head. What was that? A memory? He didn't remember these events happening, but they were so vivid. He looked at the medallion again. _'CW?'_ He wondered, _'Who?'_ Then his eyes widen once more. "Clockwork!" he whispered, and then with another realization he growled. "Meddling again!" _'So he rewinded time again? Does he really think it will make a difference?'_

He begins to raise his arm, but a purple blast from somewhere to his right, knocks him into the street. As he stumbles up and waves the smoke away he see Valerie, blowing the smoke from a wrist-mounted weapon, a grenade in her other hand. Scowling, he gets to his feet and charges. Valerie throws a pair of grenades at him, but he transforms to a green, blobby form and they pass right through him. She fires her wrist gun, but he is too fast and grabs her by both wrists.

Meanwhile, Danny is struggling to get free. _'I have to save her.'_ He thought. And bursts from the net with a cry.

Dark Dan lifts Valerie with one hand and punches her with the other, sending her bouncing off the pavement. He follows as she props herself on one hand and one elbow.

"Valerie!" Danny flies and catches Valerie around the middle, making them fly intangibly through a few buildings before crash-landing in the street on the other side in a tangle.

Valerie looks at him stunned, and realizes something. _'This can't be a duplicate sent by Dark Dan to confuse me, Dark Dan wouldn't save me from himself. In less…'_ Valerie notices the gear shape medallion around his neck, and the same memory as Dark Dan's flashes before her mind. _'Clockwork?'_ She smiles. "You're from the past, aren't you?"

Danny gets to his feet, stunned that she's figured out this information on her own.

"I almost forgot how cute you were back then." She admits, before slumping back on the ground, knocked out cold.

"You thought I was cute?" Danny asked shocked. "Wow! An older woman likes me."

Dark Dan looks to his former frozen friends still trapped in the green light with a look of distain. "You know, if I had an ounce of humanity left in me, this would be a touching little reunion. But of course I surrendered my human emotions a long time ago."

Behind him, Danny rises invisibly from the street, teeth gritted and fists clenched.

Dark Dan's ghost sense goes off as tendrils of red smoke coming from his nostrils. "Oh, please." He whispers. He turns and punches an ectoblast at Danny, who returns the favor.

Both are knocked down by the other's blast, and the green light trapping Tucker and Sam vanishes, dropping them to the street as well.

Danny sits up, panicked. "Tucker! Sam! Run!" He orders.

They do.

Dark Dan scoffs getting back to his feet. "Run? Where are they going to go?" He asked the obvious. Turning, he lets out a Ghostly Wail. Danny covers his ears. Tucker and Sam stop, looking up at the FentonWorks next to them. The brick begins to crumble, the Op Center tilting from the top.

' _It's going to crush them.'_ Danny realizes, and gets to his feet in hopes of saving them in time. But as he flies to their rescue Dark Dan grabs him by the ankle. "Ah ah ah." He mused.

Danny gasps as the FentonWorks falls over on top of Tucker and Sam, throwing up a cloud of dust. Danny stares in shock for a moment, then cries out as Dark Dan shocks him with energy causing him to revert back to his human form. Then Dark Dan spins and throws him toward the wreckage.

Getting up on his elbows, he sees the two time medallions Tucker and Sam had been wearing are now lying abandoned on the ground. "They took off their time medallions!" He realized in relief, getting to his feet he grabs the medallions. "That returned them to their time period just like Box Lunch and Skulktech! Tucker and Sam made it out alive! Which means I can—" He goes to take off his own, but Dark Dan seizes his arm.

"Why go back for them?"

Danny cries out as Dark Dan lifts him into the air.

"They're doomed anyway. And you aren't going anywhere if you can't remove your time medallion." Dark Dan reasons. Suddenly His hand glows green. Ripping off Danny's time medallion, he makes it intangible and sticks it inside Danny's chest, fusing it with his very being. Keeping him in this time frame forever.

"In fact, you aren't going anywhere at all." He vows.

"You won't win!" Danny declares, struggling in his hold. "I will never become you!"

Dark Dan growls and shocks Danny once more.

Danny screams then slumps, before becoming unconscious.

"Yes you will." Dark Dan Vowed, as he picked up one of the other two time medallions. "And I'll make sure of it…"

* * *

 **(Back to present day with Tucker, and Sam…)**

In the alley beside the Nasty Burger, Sam and Tucker appear in a flash of light. The still-live heating element and tanks of Nasty Sauce are visible.

Tucker is on his knees, still shielding his head, screaming. Sam crosses her arms and frowns at him. He looks up, surprised. "You got the medallions off, didn't you?"

"I don't accessorize well." Sam said confirming his suspicions. "Unfortunately, Danny's still stuck in the future fighting his jerky older self! We've got to help him!"

"Tucker? Sam?" The two freeze as Jazz suddenly appears. "You got a second?"

The two look at her unsure while preparing to make a run for it.

"Let me answer that for you. Yes, you do." Jazz said, blocking their paths. She had been looking all over for Danny since she found the answers to the CAT in his bag. And now she finally found them. And even if Danny wasn't with them Jazz was going to talk since hearing it from his friends might actually make him want to come clean. Probably more so then hearing it from his nagging older sister. "Look I know Danny stole the answers to the C.A.T. That he's going to cheat!

"Actually, Danny wasn't going to—" Sam began to defend him, but Jazz stops her.

"Sam, enough. I know more than you think I do. A lot more." She admitted. "So I suggest when you see Danny, you tell him I wanna talk to him. Tonight! Because if I don't, I will be talking to our parents and Mr. Lancer tomorrow." She stomps off then disgusted. _'They knew he was going to cheat, they knew he had the answers and did nothing to turn him in or try to stop him.'_ She shook her head. _'Honestly I thought these guys where better.'_

Sam looks stunned. "Lancer knows Danny has the answers?" She gasped.

"Oh, man, is he in trouble." Tucker realized.

That's got to be it." Sam said. "Danny cheating is the thing that leads to that horrible future!"

Tucker shook his head finding this hard to believe. "Let me get this straight. Danny gets caught cheating on a test, and we pay for it with our lives? How is that fair?"

"I don't know." Sam said, "But we have to find him, and warn him."

"But how?" Tucker asked. "He's still stuck in the future."

"Maybe he isn't." Sam said looking around. "We reappeared closely where we last where in this time line." She told him. "We stopped Skulktech around the Nasty Burger.

"So you think Danny's around here to, just not with us because we didn't disappear from this alley?"

"Maybe." Sam said. "It's the only theory I got."

"Then let's go see if we can find him." Tucker said, before the two friends set off to look for Danny.

* * *

 **(Back to Dark Dan in the future…)**

Dark Dan drops his past self in disgust, resisting the urge to tear him apart, but only just barely. _'If I kill him now I will cease to exist.'_ He reminds himself, deciding to get from difference from the boy. He walks around to the other side of some nearby rubble thinking to himself as he goes. _'I can't believe that hooded time wiz actually had the nerve to meddle with my future.'_ He looks back down at the medallion in his hand. _'I can fix this.'_ He realized. _'If I put this on it might teleport me to the time frame opposite of my own.'_

It was strange how he could know this, he never fiddled with time travel before, or he hadn't originally. However now that the past had been changed, Some of Dark Dan's memories had altered too. For example, instead of fighting the Box ghost in the original fight that allowed him to get the test answers in the first place. Dark Dan now recalls it being Box Lunch, Skulktech has also replaced Skulker in his memories as well.

Dark Dan shook his head. "His meddling is changing everything, including my memories!" he whispered out loud. "I have to fix this-"

Danny moans still lying on the ground, he opens his eyes a large stone statue comes into focus before him.

"Mom? Dad?" He whispers rolling to his knees. The statue is of the Fentons Mr. Lancer, Sam and Tucker, all smiling. An epigraph on the large pedestal reads "GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN". Danny grimaced as he realizes his arms are bound to his torso with glowing green rope.

"Gone but not forgotten"? He whispers, He stands, realizing where he is, and that something is missing. "Where's the Nasty Burger?" He asked. He looks up at the wreck of the Nasty Burger, and gets his answer

It's been blown open, and the sign is fallen. Dark Dan walks around the corner of the building.

"Strange how, one massive fireball of highly combustible condiments can ruin your whole future." He mused.

"The time medallion?" Danny asked hopefully.

"Fused inside you." Dark Dan answered. "Nice, huh? Intangible and unreachable whether you're ghost or human which means...you can't go back in time."

"It doesn't matter if I go back in time or not." Danny shouted. "I'll never turn into you! Never!"

Clockwork's eyes widen as he forms an idea, he suddenly knows exactly how to beat Dark Dan at his own game. With another wave of his staff he manipulates the dark phantom's thoughts just slightly.

 _'I should throw him into the ghost Zone.'_ Dar Dan thought _. 'I bet all our old friends would just love to keep him busy.'_

Dark Dan chuckles, and forms his own ghost portal. "Of course you will." He says reverting into human form, but he now appears to be Danny's age; a perfect clone. "It's only a matter of time." He seizes Danny by the bonds, and throws him into the awaiting portal. "I need you out of my way and out of my hair while I make sure nothing happens to change my past. And luckily, this…" he pulls out one of the medallion with a smile. "Is all I need to make sure of that I get where and when I need to be?"

A ball of blueish-white light engulfs him and he vanishes. He reappears back in the present, in the alleyway next to the Nasty Burger.

Clockwork smiles as he allows the Observants to move once more "Have you completed the Task yet?" Melk asked, continuing his question.

Clockwork looks at him crossly. "Everything's fine." He smiles. "Everything's the way it's supposed to be. He gestures to Dark Dan, who is disguised as Danny. "See there's your boy, back to his time. Safe, sound, and clearly not evil. Now. Care to observe the door?" He asked, dismissing them.

The two Observants look at each other, suspicion shows in their eyes, but they soon vanish all the same, leaving him to his work. Clockwork switches to child form. "Good now there will be no more interruptions." He mused, watching the Rifts.

In the future Rift Danny struggles in his bonds as he floats through the future ghost Zone... he's alone, and though he can turn ghost, he can't seem to break free.

And just when he thinks his situation can't get any worse it does, and in the worse way possible!

"Well, well, well." A voice that sounds a lot like the Box Ghost says behind him.

Danny turns towards him and gasped; he his large and muscular now, with a hook for one hand, an eyepatch, and a heart with an arrow through it tattooed on his left arm.

"All this time we've been planning how we'd take the fight to you, and here you are. Wrapped up like a present." He mused.

"Box Ghost?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"Beware." He said darkly while raising a hand before throwing a bluewhite energy beam at Danny, knocking him into an older and much chubbier Ember.

"Ember?! You look..." He began, but She cut him off.

"Like I went to seed right after you destroyed my vocal cords with that Ghostly Wail of yours?"

Danny winced. "I was gonna say statuesque, but uh-"

Ember doesn't let him finish instead she throws a punch chord on her guitar, knocking Danny back. He crashes into Johnny 13, now balding and in a wheelchair.

"Johnny 13?!" Okay just how many of his old enemies did his Darker-self mess up? And Why? "Ok, whatever happened to you, I swear I had nothing to do with-" He tried to explain, but just like the rest Johnny 13 would hear none of it, and neither would his shadow.

The black blanket over his legs rises up and resolves into the bad luck shadow in question.

"Been waiting a long time for this, punk." Johnny 13 admits.

"Wait!" Danny insisted as they closed in. "No! Nooo!"

Clockwork looks away as they begin their assault, as much as he wanted to help Danny he couldn't. The boy needed to learn that even something as little as cheating on a test had consequences, besides he had a more dangerous problem to address. He turns to the present day Rift where Dark Dan has just appeared.

Dark Dan smiles wickedly as he looks up at the Nasty Burger before him. "The Nasty Burger. Still standing. For now..." He looks inside where the heating element is warming the Nasty Sauce tank. The temperature indicator is still slowly creeping higher.

"Danny!"

Dark Dan Turns to see Sam and Tucker running towards him.

Sam embraces him suddenly.

Dark Dan cringes _, 'Human affection, man I so do not miss this!'_ He thought.

"You made it back!" Sam exclaimed.

Tucker also joins into the hug. "Did you beat that evil jerky puspack alternative version of yourself?"

Dark Dan's eyes flash red for an instant, then return to blue, and he laughs shortly. "Always with the quips." He laughed, mocking his younger voice perfectly. "In my weaker moments I sometimes miss your droll sense of humor."

Sam and Tucker look nonplussed.

"I'm sorry?" Tucker asked.

Dark Dan shook his head, realizing he's messed up. "I'm just kidding!" He scoffed. "I beat my other self quite easily. Had you guys going there for a second, didn't I?" He asked nervously, biting his lip. _'Why did I say that?'_ He wondered, ' _I never slip like that ever!'_

His eyes narrow as he suddenly remembers something.

 _"I could manipulate your very thoughts if I wanted to."_

 _'He's been manipulating my thoughts!'_ He snapped _. 'What else had he changed?!'_

He tried to focus, to recall his how he beat clockworks game before the old time wiz had hit rewind, but his current changes had already started meddling with his memory. It wasn't the same anymore. _'Damn that no good meddler!'_ He hissed inwardly. ' _He won't sway my thoughts again.'_ He vowed. _'Now that I remember I can stop him.'_

Clockwork smiled. "That's it, keep underestimating me, and everything I throw at you. Because in the end it will be your own undoing." He whispered as the present day events continued to play before him.

"Well...we should probably do what we can to stop the Nasty Burger from blowing up, huh?" Tucker asked bring Dark Dan out of his thoughts.

"Already done!" Dark Dan assured him. "Now, who's up for playing some games and raging against the machine?" he asked.

"We're in!" Tucker, and Sam exclaimed.

Dark Dan smiled. _'Perfect, now all I have to do is keep this up 'til test day then Kaboom!'_

Dark Dan led his former friends down the street knowingly. _'Then my future will be sealed.'_

* * *

 **(Hours Later...)**

Dark Dan rose up through the floor in utter disguise, "My old room." He said bitterly. It was just as horrible as he remembered. Oh well at least he was finally alone. He Sighed, taking in the rest of the room equally as annoyed. Dark Dan had spent several hours playing video games with Tucker and Sam, and pretending to be his younger self was starting to wear on him and fast. _'Speaking of my younger self.'_ Dark Dan froze as and his bedroom in mirror, touching his face. "And my old face." He muttered, and turned quickly as Jazz Burst into the room. "And my old Sister."

"Danny? We need to talk." She ordered, deciding to get to the bottom of this.

"What do you want, Jazz? I'm busy." Dark Dan Spat.

Jazz pulled out the answers from his backpack and said. "Yeah, busy cheating! Lancer was right, you DID steal the answers! Don't you understand?" she asked him.

"That I'll be destroying my future? Ha-ha. You don't know that half of it." He said, then grabs the answers and his backpack from her.

Jazz took a deep breath, she knew there was only one way to reach him: she had to tell him the truth. "Danny, I know all of it. About everything. That you're part ghost. That you're always doing great thing with your powers. Until now." She picked up the Booomerang as she spoke, which was lying on his floor.

"You knew?" Dark Dan asked stunned, she knew this whole time!

"Yes." She confirmed. "And I've been covering for you with Mom and Dad because I'm proud of you, and the good that you do. But not anymore." She shouted more determined now.

Dark Dan suddenly smiled evilly. Jazz was too smart for her own good, and the only way this would run smoothly was by eliminating her! "You always were smarter than I gave you credit for." He admitted and then changed from his younger-self to his true ghost form.

Jazz backs away startled. "You're-you're not Danny!" She looks down at the boomerang still in her hands and gasped. "That's why the Boooooomerang wasn't homing in on your ectosignature! You're not Danny!"

Dark Dan smiled and replied. "I was. But I grew out of it. The Danny you know is floating helplessly in the Ghost Zone ten years in the future."

"He'll escape. He'll beat you!" She spat at him.

"How?" Dark Dan asked mockingly. "Is the answer A, the Fenton Portal? Destroyed it. B, the only remaining portal? The one my idiot cheese head archenemy has? As soon as I find it, that's going too." He said, with an evil smile.

"Cheesehead?" Jazz asked, and then realized. "Vlad Masters?! HE'S your archenemy?" She asked him but he didn't answer my question as he kept on talking.

"Is it C, you? No. You can't stop me from cheating on the C.A.T. and solidifying my future, so it must be D-" and he throws an ectoblast at her and she freezes. "None of the above!"

Jazz moans as she passes out and falls to the floor, out cold.

Dark Dan turns back into his younger-self and pulls the CAT answer sheet out of his bag, opens it and looks at the answer to question one., and laughs. "Well, what do you know! The answer to the first question "is" D."

Jazz thrashed in her unconscious state as that evil laugh followed her into oblivion.

* * *

 **(The Next Morning)**

Jazz screamed as she woke up with a start. "Huh? What?" she ask them suddenly her door was kicked opened by Jack. "What's up, princess? Are you ok?" He asked.

Jazz is dazed, nothing make sense to her. She thought for sure that ghost would've killed her, but he didn't. "I'm in my bed? I'm alive?" she asked still not comprehending it.

Suddenly Maddie burst in in, kicking Jack out of her way. "Well of course you're in your bed and you're alive, sweetie! Danny said you fell asleep helping him study and we tucked you in." Maddie explained.

"He even woke up bright and early to make sure nothing happened to make him late for the big test!" Jack said.

Jazz suddenly jump out of my bed and screamed "Oh no! The test!" She runs out of the room snatching the boomerang out of Jack's hand before heading down to the lab and open the portal. She takes a folded note She had wrote in a hurry on her way down and took her headband out of her hair and tied the note to the boomerang. "I need you to find Danny. 14-year-old Danny, ten years from now." Jazz said to the device and then threw it in the portal before rushing out to stop the other ghost.

Her only hope was that it would make it to him in time.

* * *

 **(Meanwhile, in the Ghost Zone)**

Danny screams as the assault of his enemies continued.

Ember lands another chord, then Box Ghost beans him with some energy boxes, while Johnny's shadow sends him spinning.

Danny fights the urge to vomit, as Skulktech threatens him with lightning, and Kitty socks him with her purse knocking him into Ember, so the endless loop can start all over again. She seizes him and slams him into a wall.

"Please!" Danny begs, though he knows it's no use. "I didn't do all this to you, it wasn't me!"

"Oh, stop!" Skulktech scowls. "You're responsible for the horrible things that happened to your world "and" ours. To everyone you've ever come in contact with!"

"Your family, your friends, and most importantly, us." Ember added, powering up her next attack .

"But-I didn't do any of that!" Danny whispered, too weak now.

All of the ghosts power up around him, following Ember's lead.

"No." Danny said, finally tiered of it all! Ever since the CAT had begun and the madness of his future along with it he had been so tense. Well now it was time to let it out. "Get away! Get AWAAAAAY!" His scream turns into a Ghostly Wail, knocking the other ghosts away and vaporizing his bonds. The effort of the attack makes him partially revert to human form, his eyes and hair changing but his suit and glow remaining.

All of the ghosts are floating unconscious, the Shadow half-melted and Skulktech's suit smoking.

"Whoa…" He said, his voice deepened for a moment, before going back to normal. "My voice is changing?" He realized. "Great." He goes back to his full ghost mode. "I'm going through evil puberty. Everywhere I turn my stupid future is smacking me in the face!" Suddenly the Booomerang clocks him in the back of the head. "OW!" He says then notices the note. "...A note?" He takes the note, making a mental note in his mind that it must have come from Jazz due to the fact that it was tied with her head band. He then throws the boomerang to the side before he begins to read. "Wisconsin? Plasmius. Figures he's involved in this!" He growled, and headed towards his new destination.

* * *

 **(Back with Dark Dan)**

 **[Present Day, Time for CAT!]**

Mr. Lancer walks around the classroom making sure no one is cheating. He knows someone must have those stolen answers, but alas he finds none. He nods to himself, this is good he decides. _'Maybe he got cold feet and decided to be honest on the Test.'_ He thought as he goes to sit down at his desk. _'I'll give him until the end of the exam to fess up.'_ He decided before pulling out a book of poetry.

Meanwhile, Dark Dan pulls something out from under his desk. It was the answers!

Tucker gasped. "Danny, don't! If you cheat on the test we-" but Sam shushed him.

Mr. Lancer looks up suspiciously and said "Mr. Foley, Mr. Fenton. Is there a problem?"

Dark Dan looks at Mr. Lancer then at his old friends and chuckles "No problem at all."

Mr. Lancer goes back to his book, and Dark Dan continues bubbling answers in all the while he was hurtling them all to their demise, and they had no idea!

He looks around making sure everything is as it should be when he notices Jazz frowning at him through the glass window of the classroom door. He looks around quickly, then a transparent copy of his adult-self peels off and dives into the floor as he scowls back at her. Out in the hall, the copy slips up behind her and zaps her as she pulls the Fenton Peeler. She screams then collapses, unconscious, to the floor.

And the second Dark Dan drags her off by the ankles stuffing her in a closet before returning to his original self who then walks up to Mr. Lancer's desk and slaps his test answers down.

"Finished already, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer asked him, his suspicions increasing.

Dark Dan leans on his desk and said "Is that a problem?"

"How should I know? I don't have all the answers. Do you?" Lancer asked.

Dark Dan simply walks out of the room smiling dark.

Mr. Lancer sighs deeply as he pulls out his cellphone and dials a number. "Mrs. Fenton? It's Mr. Lancer. Could you meet me at the Nasty Burger at say, 5 o' clock? And bring Danny with you."

Sam and Tucker tense.

"Oh no it's happening!" Tucker whispered fearfully.

"Hurry and finish!" Sam whispered back harshly, we have to stop him!"

Tucker forced himself to hurry they both did, their only hope was that they would make it in time!

* * *

 **-To Be Continued**


	16. Danny Vs Danny?

**Disclaimers:** I Do Not Own Danny Phantom

 **Author's Note:** Okay guys we are wrapping up book one today! And Book 2 will be up October 1st! Thank you all for reading, and I hope to here from you in your reviews

Yours Truly, RoxieDivine :)

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Danny Vs Danny?**

Clockwork presses the button on his staff, and pushes time forward once more. He was almost done with this exhausting task. He almost had a perfect future where both Danny, and the rest of them lived in harmony. Still he needed to stay sharp, Dark Dan was beginning to catch on to his meddling again, and he hated to rewind yet again.

The time rift stops zooming forward and shows the wreckage of the Nasty Burger, the tanks are still over heating; and the indicator needle shudders higher.

Lancer stands before the restaurant, Danny's CAT test in hand. His perfect score has furthered his suspicions, and even though he found the answer key in his office moments after the rest of the students left; he was still convince that Danny had cheated somehow.

A car pulls up, it's the Fenton RV, and its head lights illuminate the parking lot. Maddie parks a good ways away from the Nasty Burger, looking unsure. "Mr. Lancer sounded urgent on the phone. Danny, is something wrong?"

"Not yet." Dark Dan mused as they got out of the car and walked over to the awaiting teacher. _'This is it, it's almost over.'_ He assured himself. _'Just a little bit longer.'_

Mr. Lancer's eyes narrowed at their approach. "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Daniel, this s the Nasty Burger." He said holding up Danny's test. "When people fail, this is where they end up- whether they fail because they don't study, or because they cheat.

Jack and Maddie gasp.

"Danny! Is this true?" His father asked.

"Did you cheat?" His mother yelled.

Suddenly Sam and tucker run up to them. "You have to get out of here!"

"The Nasty Burger's gonna blow, and we're three feet from it!" Tucker screamed.

"South Beach Diet, people, what's going on here!" Lancer asked.

Dark Dan's brow rises _, 'I thought I told them I handled it!_ ' He thought. ' _They should be begging Lancer to spare me, not trying to get everyone to safety.'_

Yes. Something had gone wrong here, but before he could figure it out, a new problem appeared.

Jazz's foot slams down, encased in the Fenton Peeler. "I'll tell you what's going on." She said.

Everyone looks over, surprised, and in Disguised Dark Dan's case, angry.

"Or better yet, I'll show you." She fires the Peeler at Dark Dan, peeling away his disguise and revealing his true form. Everyone looks on in shock. "That's not Danny!" She exclaimed.

Jack and Maddie go from stunned to angry, and immediately train weapons on the fallen Dark Dan.

"Where is he?" Jack growled. "Where's our son?"

"What have you done to our boy?" Maddie screamed.

Dark Dan laughs and looks up at her knowingly. Don't you see?" He asked. "I am your boy!"

"What?!" His parents asked in unison.

Lancer, Sam and Tucker look on, shocked. Evil! Dan springs into the air, where the clouds are starting to swirl green.

"What kind of parents are you anyway?" Dark Dan mused. "The world's leading ghost experts, and you couldn't figure out your own son was half ghost!"

With their Weapons still trained on him, Jack looks to Maddie and says "For the record, I blame you."

Dark Dan Laughed. I mean seriously Hello? Danny Fenton? Danny Phantom? Ever notice the similarity? Jazz did." He mused looking to his sister.

"She did?" Sam and Tucker asked.

"Liar! Don't move!" Jack screamed.

"Your going to tell us where our son is!" Maddie demanded. "And then we are all going home where we will put you back in the ghost Zone where you belong Ghost!"

"Actually, nobody's going anywhere." Dark Dan says…well darkly. "Not until it's time for you to be blown everywhere." He flings out a strand of ectoplasm, binding Jack, Maddie, Lancer, Sam, and Tucker to a tank, then releases five more blobs of it from his fingertips, gagging them. Jazz attempts to punch him from behind, but his flesh moves around her fist, leaving a hole in his chest. She gasps and pulls back her arm.

Dark Dan shakes his head as his chest springs back to normal and he turns his neck 180 degrees to look at her. "Nice try, Jazz. But in my future I'm inevitable." Two copies of himself manifest, surrounding her. One seizes her helmet and yanks it off. She screams and another copy covers her mouth with an ectoplasm gag. The three copies reunite and he lassos her with an ectoplasm rope, swinging her suit and all to join the others. He laughs evilly.

"Are you watching this you old time Wizard?" He screamed, making everyone around him think he's crazy. "You still lost! I am still here! And there is nothing that you can do that will stop me!"

Clockwork appeared before him, and to Dark Dan's Surprise he was smiling! "Oh I know." He said."But then again I'm not the one you have to worry about."

"Hey, old man!" A familiar voice calls out from behind him.

Dark Dan stops and turns to see his younger self zips out of the swirling sky wearing a backpack and some kind of rocket belt. "Ready for a blast from your past?"

Clockwork chuckles and disappears once more as Danny collides with Dark Dan, knocking him a couple blocks away. He then goes to check on his friends and family. "Don't worry. I won't turn into that. Ever. I promise." He says before turning to Lancer who is staring back at him. "I guess this sort of explains my periodic absences, huh?"

A rope of ectoenergy suddenly catches him around the waist. Dark Dan reels him in to seize him by the collar.

However Danny isn't worried. "What are you gonna do? Waste me? What happens to you then?" He snapped.

Dark Dan forces a laugh. "You don't get it, do you? I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me." He punches Danny into a light post. The backpack falls off and tips over, revealing the Ghost Gauntlets. I don't have to waste you. I just have to run out the clock until your entire life falls apart."

Dark Dan dives at Danny, who grabs the backpack and sinks into the ground just in time. Dark Dan knocks over the light post and spins around, looking for him.

Behind him, Danny rises out of the street, wearing the Ghost Gauntlets. "Maybe if you'd remembered more about your family, you'd have remembered the Specter Deflector!" He pulls it out, flying at Dark Dan and snapping the belt around his waist. Immediately the older Danny screams as he is electrocuted by the anti-ghost device. "Or the Ghost Gauntlets!" He hauls back and sends Dark Dan crashing through an oil truck with a punch.

Dark Dan looks around for a second nervously and then the whole thing goes up in a blue blast. In the air, Danny shields his face. As the explosion subsides to blue flame, he lands and begins to walk away. Behind him, a furious Dark Dan emerges from the flame. He rips off the Specter Deflector, grabs Danny by the arm with a still-burning hand, and throws him to the ground. Your time is up, Danny." He says copying himself into four. Suddenly the copies speaking as one. "It's been up for 10 years."

They all punch him at once, and Danny falls smoking to the ground and Dark Dan's copies reunite. "What makes you think you can change my past?"

Danny forces himself on all fours and glaring up at him. "Because I promised my family!"

Dark Dan laughed. "Oh, you are such a child! You promised?"

Danny's eyes narrowed, as he gets to his feet. "Yes! I PROMISED!" Suddenly his words turn into a Ghostly Wail, sending Dark Dan flying and digging up a divot in the street.

Dark Dan is stunned. "That power, ugh, it's not possible! I don't get that power until ten years from now!"

"I guess the future isn't as set in stone as you think it is." Danny retorted. Sending out another Ghostly Wail practically in Dark Dan's face, sending him flying again; it breaks out windows and blows him through a doorway, then demolishes the building on top of him.

Completely exhausted, Danny drops to his knees in human form. A fist rises from the rubble pile, and Danny looks up and gasps. Dark Dan bursts from the wreckage, bruised up, flames dying, and uniform ripped. "Well, that's it, isn't it?" He asked.

Danny's eyes narrowed as he pulls out a Fenton Thermos, he aims it at Dark Dan and begins to suck him in. "Time's up!" he declared.

Dark Dan allows himself to be sucked in since he's too weak to escape, besides it doesn't matter anyways "and you're too late to save them!" He yells.

Danny caps the thermos then looks over his shoulder. "Oh no."

The heat indicator is now all the way over in the red. the glass over it cracks then shatters. The cracking, leaking tanks hiss with steam. Danny runs toward the Nasty Burger, trying to go ghost, but the ring of light fizzles out, he can't change! "I can't go ghost!" He screams then trips on a rock and falls flat on his front "Noo!"

He and his loved ones stare at each other for an instant, and then the Nasty Burger blows up. The shockwave sends Danny flying with the dust and rubble; then everything freezes. A clock hand traces out a blueish white circle, which resolves into a child Clockwork. Smiling, the ghost flies up to Danny and drops a time medallion around his neck.

Danny gasps and tries to gain his balance where he floats in midair without falling, then notices Clockwork. "Clockwork?" He asked.

Clockwork points past Danny, and he looks, then gasps happily. All of his loved ones are floating, unharmed and asleep or unconscious, in a nimbus of green light.

"You saved them? I-I don't understand!" He admitted.

Clockwork switches back to his adult form. "The Observants look at time like they're watching a parade, one thing after another passing sequence right in front of them." He explains and gestures down at the wrecked Nasty Burger. "I see the parade from above, all the twists and turns it might or might not take." He gives the boy a settle wink.

Danny gasped. "You knew all this was going to happen. All of it! Even this part."

Clockwork nods "Everything's the way it's supposed to be. And here we are with you, a fourteen-year-old child, risking everything to save the people you care about."

"But I nearly…" Danny began.

"We'll all have the power to become evil." Clockwork told him. "Every being on this planet has an evil version of them self in some alternate reality. And they can become that person at any time if they make the wrong decisions. However you made the right one, in the end, and that is all that matters."

Danny smiles at him.

Clockwork pressing the button on his Time Staff, and yells Time in!

Danny watches as they are surrounded for a moment by ticking clocks, then reappear in the classroom, where Danny's classmates are taking the C.A.T., frozen in time.

Clockwork picks up the answer packet from Danny's desk and hands it to Danny. "You've given everyone else a second chance. Why not you?"

Danny takes it and Clockwork vanishes and everyone start to move again. Danny stares at Lancer, standing by his own desk with the packet in his hands, then smiles slightly.

Lancer looks up at Danny questioningly "Mr. Fenton, is there a problem?"

"Um, actually Mr. Lancer, there is." Danny admitted.

Out in the hall, Jazz sneaks up to the door with the Fenton Peeler. Looking in the window, she gasps. Danny approaches Lancer's desk.

"I, uh, found this the other day. Outside the Nasty Burger." He says and slides the answer packet across the desk.

Lancer picks it up, and notices something. "Hm. The seal is broken."

Danny bit his lip. "Yeah. I know. A-and, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself from looking at the answers. But I'm not a cheater! And I never will be!"

Out in the hall, Jazz smiles as she realizes that this is her real brother, and he must have already dealt with the imposter who knocked her out last night. She was relived He had gotten her letter in time. All was well now, and Jazz walks back down the hall to wait for him outside.

"Well, you'll have a chance to prove that when you take the make-up test next week, now won't you?" Lancer asked.

Danny is surprised "Really? You're not going to expel me?"

"It takes a lot of courage to admit you made a mistake." Lancer said. "The point is to learn from them. Besides you'll have plenty of time to study for your make-up test in detention. But for now..." He gestures to the door.

Danny smiles and exists the classroom, and walks down the hall, and out the school doors only to stop and notice that Jazz is sitting on the stairs waiting for him. His smile widens and he sits down beside her. "So, how long have you known?" He asked.

"About the test?" Jazz asked. "For days. But I'm really proud of you for not cheating."

Danny shook his head, and pulls the note and headband out of his pocket and holds it out to her "No, not that. Your headband, your note, your handwriting...'

"What? That?" Jazz blushes. "Oh, I didn't write that. And there must be dozens of headbands."

Danny gave her a knowing look. "Jazz?"

Jazz sighed. I've known since the Spectra thing. I didn't want to tell you until you wanted to tell me. It's your secret." She whispered.

"Well, it's our secret now." Danny said as they hug.

"Don't think this means I'll stop being meddling and overprotective." Jazz warned.

Danny laughed. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He admitted, and it was true. He didn't know it before but now he knew that without his sister and her meddling, and the rest of the people in his life, like Tucker Sam, His parents, and even Mr. Lancer. Danny would not be the hero he is today, nor would he be in the future.

They made him who he was, and he was thankful for it.

Suddenly his ghost sense goes off and sirens sound. A giant tentacle monster chases a cop car past the school as the siblings watch.

Jazz gives him a knowing smile. "Go, I'll wait here and we can tell Mom and Dad the truth about the test together."

Danny gives her a nod before running and transforming into his ghost form. Going ghost!" he shouted before confronting the monster before him. "Hey! Giant, green, and gruesome! Guess who's back and better than ever!"

The slime monster makes a worried sound. Danny hauls back and punches it, drenching Jazz in ectoslime.

"This is gonna take some getting used to." She admitted.

Back in the Ghost Zone a child Clockwork watches, smiling, with the thermos in one hand. The Observants stand with their hands clasped behind him.

"You manipulated the boy! You influenced his choice!" Melk said, pointing at him accusingly.

"That's a direct violation of the Protocol of Temporal Displacement!" Klem added.

"In other words, you cheated!" Both Observants declared as one.

Clockwork's smile grew. "True, I cheated." He admitted switching to adult form. "But I assure you his choice was his own."

You realize the boy is your responsibility now." Melk told him. "As is his evil self, now that he exists outside of time."

"I know." Clockwork said. "But then, I know everything." Flying past the Observants through a door, he sets down the thermos. It bulges out on the sides as though something is bouncing around and punching, then Dark Dan's face prints on the front of the thermos, his laughter echoing around them.

Then suddenly everything stops...


	17. Something's A Little Off Here

**Chapter 18: Something's A Little off Here…**

 **(One Year and 3 weeks later…)**

 **[Location: Clockwork's Tower]**

Silence….

It seemed to last forever, finally the boy before Clockwork spoke.

"Is that everything?"

"Yes Daniel." Clockwork said. "I have shown you everything that has happened. Everything that took place on that day."

"And you are sure my dark self is still locked away?" The boy went on.

Clockwork eyed the boy before him in deep thought.

The now 15 year old boy had not changed much since he last saw him, sure he possessed some new powers, but that was it, at least that's what it seemed by the first glace. However, a second glace revealed sleepy, blood red eyes, and two sharp pointed fangs. However these new features are not what causes him to be concern. The young hero's face was full of worry, and his eyes were baggy, almost as if he hadn't been sleeping well.

Clockwork suddenly looks tense. "Daniel why did you ask me to show you this?" He asked.

Danny bit his lip as if he was contemplating on whether or not to answer, finally he seems to shake it off. "It's nothing." He said as he began to make his leave. "I just keep having these weird dreams about...him and the world ending."

"I'm sure it is nothing." Clockwork assured him as he watched him go, but his face does not reflect his words.

"Yeah you're probably right." Danny agreed, but his tone does not sound convinced.

Clockwork watched him go, as silence wraps around him once more.

It does not last long.

"You are a terrible liar." A dark voice muses from behind him.

Clockwork turns to see a dark shadow before him. "So are you." He said.

The dark figure steps forward to reveal a man in a black shirt, and jeans with his long black hair in a ponytail.

It should be strangle for Clockwork to find a human in his tower…

However, this is no ordinary human.

The human strokes his black goatee in deep thought. "It's happening a lot sooner than I thought." He said.

Clockwork nodded. "It won't be long now." He agreed turning to the future rift.

"Why is this happening?" The man said. "I thought me changing was supposed to make the world better."

"I told the observers this would happen." Clockwork sighed. "Weather I killed you, or simply changed your mind about cheating. If Fate truly wants the world to go to waste then someone else would take your place."

"I know that, but I thought we handled this. We were supposed to have more time!" the man shouted. It's like someone it purposely contradicting our efforts, but who?"

"I'm afraid I don't know." Clockwork said.

"How do you not know?" The man yelled, his eyes going red. "You are the father of time!"

"Yes, but not for much longer." Clockwork sighed, and gestured to his rifts.

The man's eyes widen usually the rifts are projecting images of the past, future, and present. However now they only showed static, like a TV with bad reception. "Clockwork what is going on." He asked.

"I can only see times design for as long as I am alive." Clockwork explained. "I could see ten years into the future a year ago because I was supposed to still be alive then."

"But now you're not!" The man said stunned.

"No I am not!" Clockwork said bluntly. "However, since time is still playing forward for us I can assume I was replaced."

"But by who?" The man asked.

"I am as in the dark as much as you are." Clockwork told him.

"How am I supposed to fix this if you can't give me anything to go on?" The man hissed, his forked tongue sticking out with disgust!

"I guess you'll just have to save the world the old fashion way." Clockwork mused. "You do remember how to save the world don't you?"

"Very funny you useless time wizard." The man said. "But I'm not going to justify that gag with an answer."

Clockwork watched as the man turned into Dark Dan right before his eyes, but he still is not worried by the villain's presence.

"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way then." Dark Dan mused.

"I can only send you backwards." Clockwork said.

"Yes, but your past self should still be able to send me forward." Dark Dan argued. "Correct?"

"In theory yes." Clockwork agreed. "But are you sure you want to do this?"

Dark Dan grimaced. "How much time do you have?"

"10 years, and three days." Clockwork answered robotically.

"I will be back before then." Dark Dan promised as he put a time medallion around his neck, before diving into the past rift.

"No…." Clockwork whispered. "No you won't!"

* * *

 **-To Be Continued!**


End file.
